Shin Megami Tensei:Persona 3:Fragments of the Soul
by Axel Cratos
Summary: Marcus Hasegawa thought he was a normal guy. That was, until he received an invitation to attend the Tatsumi Port Island Academy for Gifted Students. Suddenly he is plunged into the fast paced, adrenalin packed world of the Dark Hour. Made by a friend.
1. Disclaimer

Prologue

**Disclaimer**: This FanFic was not written by me but a friend who wishes to be referred to as "Nameless" for the time being. Just to clear up who gets credit for this story.


	2. Prologue

Prologue

Prologue: The End, and The Beginning

The young man stared at the moon, which had opened to show a blood red eye at its heart. He remembered Igor's words, that the power he now held could save the world, or end it. Not that he had much of a choice, because if he didn't' use that power, Nyx would destroy the world anyway. The young man gently lifted off the ground, and made his way toward that blood red eye. Behind him he could hear the shouts of his friend's as they struggled to stand, begged him not to go. Yukari, Junpei, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Ken, Aigis, he could even hear Koromaru whimpering for him to return. But he knew that he was the only one who could stop Nyx. One last fight, against the mother of all Shadows, 'This should be fun.' he thought. Before him appeared a giant egg, composed of light, and from cracks in that egg, dozens of pitch black arms sprouted. He saw a sphere of red energy gather amidst the arms, and then suddenly blast out, striking him head on, the young man reeled, barely hanging on to life. He watched, helpless, as another sphere gathered, launched, struck, knocking him to an invisible floor. Again he struggled to stay alive in the wake of the blast. He thought of his friends, how he was failing them, but then he heard their voices, calling out to him, offering their strength. He felt Fuuka's concern for his safety, Mitsuru's determination, Koromaru's undying loyalty, Ken's optimism, Junpei's stubbornness, Akihiko's stoic resolve, Yukari's love, and Aigis' desire to be by his side. He even felt Shinjiro's strength. He gathered this power, the power his friends had given him, and put all the strength it gave him, and all that he had left in himself, and put it into one attack. He saw it briefly as a brilliant flash of pure white light.

The young man floated in darkness, absolute silence. He was utterly drained, he felt so tired. His only desire was a good, long sleep. But the voices of his friends pulled him back from the brink of oblivion. They called out to him, pleading for him to respond, to give them a sign that he was alright. Another voice spoke for him, a familiar voice. He recognized it as the voice of Pharos, the boy that had visited him so many times in the past. Pharos explained to them that he was alright, and that the world would continue on. They had succeeded, they had stopped Nyx.

Aigis stood at Tartarus' foot, and watched as it was drawn back to where ever it had come from. She turned her eyes to the entrance of the tower, and felt tears of joy grow in her eyes and roll down he cheeks. Aigis didn't know how she was crying; she didn't even know she could cry. All she cared about was that he was alright, that he was there, that she could be with him.

A month passed, and Aigis watched as her friends' memories of the Dark Hour, of all they had done in those hours over the past year, faded away. By the end of the month they had all forgotten everything about the Dark Hour, the Shadows, Tartarus, Nyx, and their Personas. Aigis retained her memories, although she didn't know why. She figured that she could remember for all of them. Then the day they had all agreed to meet came. Aigis could stand it no longer, she had to talk to him, had to see if he too remembered. She went to his room, knocked on his door. He opened it, welcomed her in. She began to explain her presence, but he stopped her. He already knew, he still remembered, and had all the time. They both recalled the promise they had all made, that they would all meet at school on graduation day. They decided to wait for the others on the school's roof. On the roof he lay with his head on her lap and they stared at the beautiful sky. Aigis was talking about how she wanted to be by him for as long as she could, and that she would protect him with all her strength. The young man felt so tired, he could barely hold his eyes open. Aigis reassured him that she would be there, that he could sleep. He could hear his friend's voices calling out to him and Aigis, but he couldn't stay awake. He felt all his strength, all the power he had had in that final fight, drain away, leaving him empty. But he wasn't afraid, because he knew that this wasn't death, just sleep, just a long nap, and that he would eventually wake up.


	3. Chapter 1

Prologue

Chapter 1: 7-Years Later

Yukari Takeba sat at the table in her college dorm's common area, holding a small picture. In the picture she and a young man were sitting in a mall, surrounded by Christmas lights. They were both red in the face. Yukari grinned, she remembered how had she had hit Junpei when she found out he had taken that picture. Yukari leaned back in her chair, and thought about what she would do next. She had just graduated college, at 24 years old. She didn't know where she wanted to go, or what she wanted to do. After Nyx's defeat and his lapse into that bizarre coma, she had lost her way, and their group had fallen apart. Mitsuru and Akihiko had both left for college not long after he fell asleep. Ken became distant, absorbed by his studies. Koromaru had returned to his self appointed post over his old master's grave, although he did stop by the old dorm occasionally. Aigis remained at the dorm, and did finish her senior year with Yukari, Fuuka, and Junpei, but like Junpei, she didn't go to college. Junpei said that he couldn't get accepted to a college even if he tried, so he didn't bother trying. Yukari had had decent grades, and so was accepted by an alright college, but no matter what she did, she couldn't forget him. Tears began to roll from her eyes.

"Why?" she sobbed, "Why did you leave me so alone?"

"But you aren't alone Yukari. All of us are still connected. Just because he isn't awake and about, doesn't mean he's not with us." Yukari turned to the speaker.

"Hello, Akihiko-senpai. It's been a while. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, but that's beside the point. I'm here to offer you a job."

"What kind of job."

"How did Mitsuru say it? It went something like, shaping the minds of the future, or something like that. In normal speak, it's a teaching job."

"But I'm not certified as a teacher."

"Mitsuru said not to worry about that stuff. What do you say, everybody else is going to be there, although Ken will be a student and Koromaru will be a mascot."

"What about him?"

"He'll be there, in a way."

"What about Aigis, and Junpei? There's no way anyone will let them be teachers."

"Again, I don't know much, but Mitsuru's got it covered."

"Alright, I'm in."

Marcus Hasegawa was an ordinary high school student. Average grades, smarts, looks, life. Marcus was a totally normal guy, which it why he was so surprised when he received a flyer for a school called 'Tatsumi Port Island Academy for Gifted Students' in the mail. According to the flyer he could go there for a week, to see how things were run, and if he wanted to stay he could, and if he didn't he could go back home. He hadn't been interested, even thought the school itself would pay for him to come, but his parents told him that, at the very least he should go for the week, just to see. His mother had tried being subtle, hinting that his life might somehow get better if he went. His father had been blunter. He had told Marcus that if he didn't go, he'd punch him until he did. So Marcus decided to go. He lived in Japan, so Tatsumi Port Island wasn't far away from home, but he would still need to live in a dorm for his stay. From what he learned on the internet, Marcus discovered that the school was newly founded, and was run entirely by the 'Kirijo Group', that was headed up by a Mitsuru Kirijo. Apparently she had taken over after her father died 5 years ago. According to official records, Mr. Kirijo had died of some mysterious ailment. He looked up the staff hired for the school, and got a list of names. Yukari Takeba, Junpei Iori, Akihiko Sanada, Fuuka Yamagishi, even Ms. Kirijo was a teacher. Marcus figured it must be a pretty small school to only have five teachers. He had packed in a couple of hours, and by the next day he was on Tatsumi Port Island. There was another school on the island, Gekkoukan High School, a public school. The school Marcus was going to was, by comparison, tiny. Including him, there were only twenty students. The classes were split into five groups of four. His class was made up of him, one other boy, and two girls. He arrived at the island on a Sunday, so he had a day to get unpacked and settled into the dorm all the students were being housed in. He spent most of the day in his room, and so didn't meet any of his fellow students. The next day was the first day of school. He and his fellow students were gathered in the assembly hall of the school, which also served as the gym. It was then that they were introduced to their teachers. First to be introduced was Junpei Iori. He was wearing a primarily black outfit, and a baseball cap. Iori was the second tallest man in the group, next to the other man, Akihiko Sanada. Iori would be teaching P.E. The next teacher to be introduced was Fuuka Yamagishi. She was a small woman, by far the shortest of the group, but also looked to be one of the brightest. She had neck length, light green hair, and pale skin. She wore a long, green, flowery dress. She had been chatting quietly with the woman next to her, Yukari Takeba. Miss Takeba was a little taller than Miss Yamagishi, and had shoulder length brown hair and slightly tan skin. She wore a pink shirt, and a black pair of loose pants. Akihiko Sanada, the math teacher, had short cut white hair, and wore a red vest with a white, long sleeve shirt underneath it, and black trousers. Last to be introduced was Mitsuru Kirijo, who along with teaching History would be the Principal of the school. She was the tallest of the women, and looked like she could run the whole school on her own. She was wearing a knee length black skirt, and a white long sleeve shirt. Her hair reached down to her waist, and was a dark red. She told the students how they would be split up, that the Classes would rotate between the teachers, and that their first class of the day would be their home room class. Marcus' home room was Literature and Writing, which was run by Miss Takeba. After the assembly was over the students went to their home rooms. Marcus was the first to his, and so got his pick of the seats. The next person in the room was the other boy in his class. "Hello, my name is Ken Amada. It's nice to meet you. What is your name?"

"I'm Marcus Hasegawa. What do you know about our teacher?"

"Oh, you mean Miss Takeba? She's a very nice person, smart too. Although she did change a bit after..."

"Ken, I don't think that is anything your classmate needs to know about."

"I'm sorry Yukari-senpai, I wasn't thinking."

Marcus watched the exchange, noting the use of first names. Ken and Miss Takeba apparently knew each other well. They were so busy talking to each other that Marcus was the only one to notice the two girls entering the room. One had long blonde hair, and bright blue eyes. She was taller than the other girl, but a head shorter than Marcus. The other girl had dark green eyes, and her black hair was cropped short. Marcus decided that he could stand to stay if all the girls were as pretty as them. The brunette didn't give him second glance, her eyes were locked on Ken, but the blonde was trying to look at Marcus out of the corner of her eye, while pretending not to. Marcus pretended not to notice, and turned his attention back to Ken and Miss Takeba. They were still busy talking about whatever it was they were talking about, when Mr. Sanada poked his head in the room. "Yukari, you in here?"

"Oh, yeah. What is it?'

"Mitsuru wanted me to make sure that you actually taught your class, instead of just reminiscing with Ken. By the way, how are you Ken?"

"I'm alright, what about you, Akihiko-senpai?"

"That's Sanada-sensei, or Mr. Sanada, and I'm fine. Now, I need to check on Junpei, and then my class." With that Mr. Sanada left, and the class took their seats. The rest of the day went like any other first day of school, and Marcus learned the girls' names. The blonde was named Mika Arai, and the brunette went by Benehime Fumitsu, although Mika just called her Fu. At the end of the day, Ms. Kirijo made an announcement, telling all students that they would need to return to their dorms right after school. Marcus didn't understand why, and was annoyed particularly because he had asked Mika to the movies and she had said yes. He became even more annoyed when he learned that Ken was going to be having some special meeting with the teachers, Marcus wanted to do something, anything to relieve the boredom, as it was he ended up watching T.V.

"So Mitsuru, why did you _really_ set up this school, and none of that "shaping minds of the future" crap." Junpei, Yukari, Fuuka, Akihiko, Mitsuru, Ken, Koromaru, and Aigis were all gather in the faculty office of the school. Mitsuru had told them to come there after school was out. In order to insure that none of the other students learned what was going on, she had made sure they would all be in the dorm. Mitsuru spoke, "The truth is, the Dark Hour isn't gone. For some reason it has resurfaced, and just recently too."

"But I thought that when he beat Nyx, the Dark Hour went with her.", said Yukari.

"It did," Akihiko interjected, "but it came back."

"We got that bit Akihiko," said Junpei, "what I think we're wondering is WHY it came back!"

"We don't know."

"Wonderful, man, I wish he was able to help us. He may have been kind of odd, but he was able to figure stuff out. That and he was way more powerful than any of us. I mean, how are we gonna fight? We're five years out of practice."

"True," Fuuka said, "but our Personas have not lost their power, so we shouldn't be at too much of a disadvantage."

"Ok, but that leaves my first question, although I've got a good idea."

"I'd bet your idea is right, Junpei. These kids are all capable of using Personas. When I discovered that the Dark Hour had returned, I contacted Fuuka and asked her to begin searching for potential Persona users. I had her pay special attention to search for Persona users with scanning abilities like hers and my own."

"That was the hard part, but I did find five support oriented Persona users."

"I assume that there is one for each home class.", Ken said.

"Right, Ken. The one in your class is a Miss Benehime Fumitsu."

"Hmm..., I guess I'll have to do most of the fighting for my group, just like he did in the start."

"Actually," Fuuka interrupted, "you might have some help. That other young man in your class, Marcus Hasegawa. If what Juno told me about him is right, then he has a lot of potential, to say the least."

"So why put him with me? And what about Ms. Mika?"

"Ms. Arai has a Persona inclined more toward healing, although, with training, it could become powerful in combat as well. As for why we put Mr. Hasegawa in the same class as you, well, according to what Fuuka sensed, the power he has may be hard for him to control. Anyhow, I wouldn't worry about fighting just yet." Mitsuru was wrapping up the meeting. "For the time being we're monitoring the students, seeing how they are reacting to the Dark Hour."

Aigis finally spoke, "What about him, have the Kirijo scientists figured out why he is still asleep?"

"They think it has something to do with his exposure to the massive amount of power that he used, and the opposing power Nyx had. The other theory is that he was actually supposed to die as a result of the battle, that his victory was supposed to cost his life, but that part of that price was paid by something else, so instead of dying, he simply sleeps. As for how long he'll sleep, they have no clue."

"I don't know, Mitsuru, maybe we should find a job for Aigis in the school."

"It is alright, Yukari-san. I am content with maintaining the school."

"If you're sure, then ok."

"Our first priority is preparing the new users for whatever it is that has called the Dark Hour back into being."


	4. Chapter 2

Prologue

Chapter 2: Awakening

After the first week of school, Marcus had settled in, so when the time came for the students to choose whether or not they would stay, his entire decision was hinged on whether or not Mika was staying, when he found out she was staying, he knew he was too. The two of them had become good friends over the week. Marcus had held the hope that Ken and Fu might be leaving, but wasn't surprised when he found out that they too were staying. Marcus had to admit, the school work was tough, but he enjoyed the way it pushed him to do his best. At the same time, due to that same work load, he knew that some of the students wouldn't stick around. By the end of the week eight students had left, but the remaining twelve seemed determined to stay. Marcus didn't concern himself with that, his focus was on the Sunday off they had tomorrow, because he had finally managed to get Mika to go with him on an official date. They had hung out together after school plenty of times during the week, but this was their first real date. Marcus woke up early, and spent the entire morning leading up to the date getting ready. On his way out he saw that Ken had also cleaned himself up for a date. 'Good for him', Marcus thought, 'Ken's a good guy; I hope his date goes well.' Marcus went to the door, opened the door, and was greeted by Mika's face, made even prettier by just the right amount of makeup. Then he noticed Fu standing just behind Mika. Before he could ask why she was there, Mika told him that she had invited Fu and Ken to join them. Inside Marcus' mind he screamed at the top of his lungs, but in the real world, he managed to control himself, quite admirably, he thought. "Mika," Marcus begged, "I bet Fu and Ken both have other things they need to do." Behind Mika, Fu nodded her head rapidly in agreement, but Ken had already made it to the door, and was ready to contradict Marcus. "Nonsense, I've got nothing better to do. All my school work is done, and there's nothing good on T.V. I bet Fu's in the same boat I am." Again, Fu nodded. Marcus knew that he wasn't going to win the argument, and so, agreed to the arrangement. The four of them agreed that the best course of action was that they would all get to pick one place to go, and then they would make sure to go to each of those locations. To decide the order, they drew four different length straws, longest first, shortest last. Marcus drew the shortest straw, Ken drew the longest. Luckily Ken had lived in the area, and knew the lay out. Ken wanted to go to the Naganaki Shrine. He said it was good luck to pray at the shrine. Marcus was skeptical, but did like the shrine because it was quiet. There weren't many people there, and the few that were, were very quiet. The next place they went was to the local movie theater, which was Fu's choice. They watched some tragic romance movie, the kind where the hero dies and the hero's girlfriend cries and then pulls herself together. Marcus paid careful attention to the main guy's lines in the romantic bits, trying to pick up useful ones. Marcus used the big tragic scene to comfort Mika and act like he was sad too. He knew that had to have scored him some major points in her book. Their third location was the shopping mall, even though Marcus and Ken had begged against it, the girls refused to change their decision. Mika loved to window shop, and that made Marcus' job of picking out a gift for her all too easy. He took advantage of a bathroom break to sneak off into a jewelry store and buy a necklace Mika had practically been drooling over. He planned to give it to her at the end of the date. Their final stop was the Karaoke Club. Marcus had already reserved a parlor for them. At first the girls flat out refused to sing, so Ken and Marcus sang a couple of heart rending, and ear splitting, thanks to their voices, songs. Listening to the two boys turn some of their favorite songs into complete gibberish forced the girls to take the stage and show them how to really sing. Where the boys singing had been god-awful, the girls sang like a choir of angels. After a breather and some refreshment Marcus and Mika decided to try another song. This time, however, Marcus actually sang, instead of using the screeching voice he had used to coax the girls into singing, he used a real singing voice. The two sounded wonderful together, and the mood was made even more romantic by the fact that they were singing a love song. After the song finished they were both bright red, because over the course of the song they had proclaimed love for each other a couple dozen times. Ken and Fu refused to follow that performance, and tried to convince them to sing again when the power suddenly went out. "Hmm, guess our times up." Marcus said. The group gathered their things and made to leave, but in the hall the power was out too. Ken suddenly became nervous. Marcus told him not to worry, "It's just a power outage, dude, relax." Ken agreed, but remained wary. His hand strayed to his belt, underneath his jacket, and gripped something he had had for five years now. They continued on their way out. They saw no one in the hall of the karaoke club, but Marcus pushed it aside. It wasn't uncommon to leave when no one else was. Then they exited the club. At first everything seemed normal, except the lights were out. Then Marcus noticed that the water in the fountain in the middle of the mall had turned red. As he looked around he saw that red liquid, blood, all over the floor. Along with the blood, there were several black crystals like objects scattered about the mall's common area. What made the object most frightening was their shape, like coffins. Suddenly Ken pulled a gun from inside his jacket.

"What the hell do you have a gun for?!" Marcus said in surprise.

"Don't worry about that right now, just stick close to me and we'll be all right."

"Wh-what's going on?" Mika was pale with fright.

"Yeah, Ken, what IS all this?"

"This is the Dark Hour. It's a 25th hour, between one day and the next. We still don't know all its secrets, but we do know that there are beings that only appear during the Dark Hour, and they aren't exactly friendly." As Ken spoke a sickly black blob of ooze crawled into view. From its front sprouted two thin arms as black as the body attacked to them. Between the arms was a mask. The mask was totally blank, except for an eye hole, and a number 0 engraved on its forehead. "Speak of the devil. That is a Shadow, one of the critters I was telling you about. It isn't any kind I've seen before though, never seen a mask like that one. You see, Shadows are split into groups based on their attributes, and those groups are signified with masks. I've seen masks 1 through 12, but never a 0."

"Well that's all well and good, it really, truly is, but what the fuck are we gonna do if it comes after us?!"

Ken held up the gun, "That's what this is for."

"Maybe it's just me, and I hope it is, but I don't think a gun is gonna hurt that little bugger much."

"This isn't a gun, it's an Evoker..."

"Oh, that makes ALL the DIFFERENCE!"

"Let me finish. This is my Evoker, and with it I can use a power capable of destroying Shadows."

"Ok, so there is a difference. One question though, where is everybody?"

"You see those coffins?"

"Yeah."

"Any ideas as to what's inside em?"

"Nope."

"None?"

"Not a one."

"Want me to tell you?"

"Sure."

"Inside each of those coffins is a person, that's why normal people don't know about the Dark Hour."

"So the four of us aren't 'normal'?"

"Would you say this is normal?"

"I'm still hoping this is a nightmare."

"Bad news, it's not."

"Damn. So what do we do?"

"Wait them out, once the Dark Hour ends, they disappear."

"And if they attack?"

"I fight em."

"And if you lose?"

"Let's think positive."

"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling very, very negative." Suddenly a shrill scream pierced the silence. While they had been talking, the Shadows had surrounded them. Mika was the first to see them. With the same suddenness, Ken stood, faced the Shadows, put the Evoker to his head, and pulled the trigger. There was a flash of light, and then behind Ken stood a giant, red and black being. Its head, torso, and legs were all roughly proportionate to one another, and connected. A short distance out from the shoulders floated two black spheres, one each side. Holding the spheres in place was a large metal structure, that when viewed from the front looked like an infinity symbol. Attached to the outermost points of the structure were the beings arms, which were proportional to its head and body. Then in a voice that seemed to fill the common area, Ken called to the being. "Kala-nemi, strike down my foes." With that order, the being raised an arm. Inside the structure, the two black spheres began to spin rapidly. Then, without warning, a bolt of lightning lanced out from Kala-nemi's raised hand, obliterating several of the black blobs. Marcus breathed a sigh of relief, and crouched down to catch his breath; after all, dragging two girls paralyzed with fear out of a crowd of evil little monsters was no easy task. To be safe he had then moved away from the girls, hoping the creatures wouldn't notice the girls, but that didn't seem to be a problem, because all the creatures were gathering. It looked like they were combining into one creature, and sure enough, once they had finished merging, a larger version of the 0 mask all the little ones had been wearing appeared on what Marcus had to assume was its head. For a moment the large creature appeared inert, but it then turned the eye hole of its mask on Ken. The eye hole began to glow and a blot of energy shot from it, hitting Ken in the chest. Ken collapsed, and Kala-nemi vanished. Marcus was scared, more scared then he had ever been, but the monsters next action stirred him from that fear. The behemoth turned its lethal eye on the place where Mika and Fu were hiding. Before Marcus knew what he was doing he had Ken's Evoker in his hand. Marcus didn't know what would happen if he pulled that trigger, but he didn't care, as long as Mika was safe, as long as he could avenge Ken, as long as it gave him the power to protect everyone. Marcus put the Evoker to his head, took one breath, and pulled the trigger. His mind was suddenly flooded with energy and a Voice, a voice that sounded like its owner was death itself, spoke to him.

_'Thou art I, and I am Thou_

_From the Sea of Thine Soul, I come Forth_

_I am Thanatos, Bringer of Death_

_I am Yours to Command'_

As his mind cleared Marcus became aware of a figure behind him, and he turned to look at it. For the most part it looked like a man, clothed in black. Three things made its inhumanity obvious. The first was its head. Attached to the normal looking human head, that was sealed entirely by black cloth, were two metal objects, one above the other. The one above looked like the upper bit of the skull of a monster that had had a very sharp beak, and teeth, the lower was the lower jaw, which looked less bird and more monster. The second thing was the set of eight coffins that were attached to the being by chains, and that floated freely. The last was the long katana the being was swinging effortlessly one handed. "Are you," he asked, "Thanatos?"

_"Yes"_

"Can you kill that big monster?"

_"I can, and will, if that is your wish."_

"What about the two girls?"

_"You wish them to die too?"_

"NO! I want you to save them!"

_"That I can do as well."_

"Then do it, know!"

_"Yes."_And with that Thanatos launched himself thought the air, clearing the distance between him and the monster in one bound. The monster turned from its prey, its attention now totally focused on Thanatos. _"Come, spawn of Nyx, I shall end your pitiful existence!"_Again Thanatos launched himself into the air, but now he drew his blade at the same time. At the peak of his jump, Thanatos shifted himself, and used all his strength, as well as the force of gravity's pull, to cleave the beast in two. Marcus felt his strength fade, watched as the monster dissolved into nothingness, as Thanatos faded saying, _"Done." _There was nothing Marcus could do, he had nothing left. Just as passed out, the Dark Hour ended. 'Well,' he thought, 'I saved the girl of my dreams, but died doing so, just like that stupid movie.'


	5. Chapter 3

Prologue

Chapter 3: Past & Future

Marcus felt warm, and comfortable, although kind of stiff. He didn't know were he was, but somehow he knew he was safe. He was pretty sure he wasn't dead. _'Of course you aren't dead, fool. If you were dead, trust me, you'd know.' _Marcus finally decided to open his eyes, and was rewarded with a slap in the face. "What was that for?!"

"For making me so worried, Marcus! I though you were dead!" Mika was in tears. "Hey, it's alright, I'm fine, see? No blood, no limbs missing."

"Shut up! I was so scared, and you act like it was nothing!"

"Scared, holy crap! I was so scared I almost crapped myself!" Mika couldn't help but giggle at that. Marcus just sat and listened to her as she explained what happened after he passed out. According to her, he had been out for a whole week. Ken was alright; apparently the attack just immobilized him. Fu was alright too, but Marcus only cared about how Mika was. Then a thought struck him. He remembered the gift he had bought for her that night. "Hey Mika, do you know where my stuff is?"

"Yeah, it's all at the dorm, why?"

"I had a bag from a store, could you get Ken to bring it to me?"

"Sure, but why?"

"You'll see." Mika left the room. Marcus stretched himself in his bed. He hoped Mika would like her gift. About an hour later Ken arrived holding the bag Marcus had requested.

"You're lucky I'm not a nosey person, Mika almost broke my arm trying to see what was in the bag."

"Where is she?"

"Outside."

"Could you send her in, please?"

"Are you sure you're alright? You NEVER say please, or at least not to me. OH, I get it now, you like her don't you?"

"Well, Yeah."

"Don't worry, I won't spill the beans."

"Thanks, man."

"No Problem." Marcus felt as though he and Ken had become friends that Ken was a friend he could trust. Ken left the room, and Mika entered a little later carrying a glass of water in each hand. "I thought you'd like some water."

"Thanks, thanks a lot." Marcus gulped down the water, and Mika pulled up a chair.

"I bet Ken told you how bad I wanted to look in your bag. The way you said 'you'll see', well, I couldn't help myself."

"I don't mind, what's in it is for you anyway. I bought it for you on that date night last week. I saw how much you liked it, so I got it before we went to the Karaoke club." Marcus pulled the necklace in its box out of the bag, and handed it to her. Mika looked from the box to Marcus, and back. She looked back and forth several times, before finally opening the gift. Marcus had to hold back a laugh as Mika nearly cried. He waited while she finished, and dried her eyes. "Thanks Marcus, it's beautiful."

"Not as much as you, Mika."

"Are you sure you're alright? You're never this nice."

"Being that close to death, it makes you think about all the things you haven't done, all the things you haven't said to the people you care about most. That necklace was supposed to be a gift for you in the first place, but I want you to have it even more now. There's also something I want to tell you. I-I like you, a lot, more than a lot; I really, really like you. If you don't feel that same way about me, then just hear me out and then go. I want to be with you, Mika. I want to use this power, this strength I've got to protect you, and, if you feel like I feel, then I'd really like it if we could, you know, be a …couple." To Marcus' horror, Mika started to laugh. He thought she thought he was a loser that she'd turn him down. Marcus panicked, and started blurting out excuses like he didn't know what he was saying, or his wasn't in his right mind, but before he could finish a coherent sentence, Mika stopped him by placing her hand over his mouth. She was still smiling, but she was also blushing. After Marcus had calmed down, she removed it and began to speak. "First of all, the reason I laughed is because you caught me by surprise. It isn't often a guy, especially a guy like you, confesses their feelings. I was expecting that I'd have to tell you how I felt about you before you told me anything like that. As for using your power to protect me, you won't have to. You're not the only Persona user; aside from Ken, in our class any more."

"Per-so-na?"

"Yeah, that's the general name for the things you and Ken summoned. All of the teachers are Persona users, and so are the students, though we're the first to learn how to use them. Oh, by the way, what is your Persona's name?"

"Thanatos, why?"

"Well shouldn't your girlfriend know what your Persona is called?"

"G-g-girl-friend?"

"What?" Mika blushed again, "I thought you wanted to go out with me!"

"Well, of course I do, I'd like nothing better, but I thought you were gonna turn me down. I thought you didn't like me."

"Wow, your confidence is at an all time high, isn't it? Of course I like you; you're a really nice guy, when you're not being a jerk. Besides, your one of the best looking guys in school, all the other girls will be so jealous! Anyway, I really do like you, so why shouldn't we go out together? Unless you changed your mind."

"NO WAY! There is no way I'd turn down you Mika, not even if the world ended, unless that made you happy. I'll do anything you want me to, as long as it makes you happy."

"Ok, this is getting too mushy, like some lame romance novel. I should be getting back to the dorm soon anyway." Mika leaned over to him and kissed him gently. Then she got up and left. Marcus settled back into his bed, and was asleep shortly after. That night Marcus had a dream, but not an ordinary one. In the dream he was speaking with Thanatos, who held a great deal of information, and was quite willing to share it. It seemed as though he had wanted some one to tell all he had learned to. Marcus learned that Thanatos was unique among Personas, in that he had had multiple masters, of which Marcus was the latest. He also told Marcus the he too was unique, because he could talk to Personas, and not just his own, but those of everyone he knew. Marcus tried, but was berated by Thanatos for it, and when Marcus asked why, Thanatos patiently explained that you can't talk to what isn't there to hear you. Marcus realized the stupidity, and apologized. Thanatos brushed it aside, and told Marcus to follow him. Marcus, having nothing better to do, follow him. They walked for what seemed to Marcus like a long time, until they came to a door. It looked like an ordinary door, except it wasn't attached to anything. Thanatos had stepped up to it, and from some pocket, pulled a velvet key. Using the key, he opened the door, and led Marcus into it. Marcus was expecting something weird, but the room on the other side of the door was beyond what he expected. The entire room was coated in velvet, floor, the ceiling, all the furniture, and all but one wall. The one, non-velvet, wall was made of a giant metal grate, and in the center of the grate was a massive clock, however, at the moment, the clock was still. Marcus looked around the room and saw that he and Thanatos were not the first people in the room. Two other people were settled on the opposite side of the room, and old man in a suit with a long, hook nose, and a young woman in a short, sleeveless velvet dress with a matching hat, and blonde hair. Both of them were watching him, sitting perfectly still. Thanatos was looking at the pair, and neither side looked like they would move anytime soon. After another minute of silence, Marcus broke it by asking Thanatos three questions, in list form. "First, why are we here? Second, why are they here? And third, Where is here?"

"This, you whelp, is the Velvet Room, and as for why I and Elizabeth are here, it is because this is our home. Why Thanatos brought you here, only he knows." said the old man.

"And who are you, ya old coot?"

"How dare you! I am Igor, keeper of the Velvet Room! Now get out, this place is not for you!"

_"Silence, Igor! You have information I need, and a debt to pay."_

"What information? I don't know what you're babbling about."

_"CONTINUE TO LIE TO ME AND YOUR LIFE WILL COME TO AN ABRUPT END! YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHY I'M HERE!"_

"Very well, you want to know why the Dark Hour has returned, the answer is simple, because Tartarus has returned. As for why Tartarus is back, I do not know, perhaps Nyx herself has returned, although how is far beyond my reasoning. That you must learn for yourself. Now if you don't mind, leave." Marcus was happy to oblige. The next morning, to fierce argument by the doctor, Marcus was released from the hospital. Mika was waiting at the front door to give him a hug, and then grabbed his hand and nearly jerked his arm out of its socket. When Marcus asked why, she told him that if they didn't hurry they'd be late. With that Marcus picked Mika up and ran full tilt to school, he wasn't about to have his girlfriend be late on his watch. A few minutes later, they had arrived, and with just enough time to spare. They made it to the classroom just as the bell rang, and were greeted by six eyes locked on to them. "What, we're on time!"

"I can see that, Marcus, what I'm wondering is if what Fu told Ken and I is true." said Ms.Takeba

"W-What did she tell you?" Mika stammered.

"That you two are a couple now." Ken.

"Well, yeah, but how did she know? Mika did you tell her?"

"No, I swear I didn't, or least I think I didn't."

"She didn't tell me, my Persona did. I sent Melpomene to make sure neither of you did anything foolish." Marcus was dumbfounded, first because Fu actually spoke to him, and then because of what her Persona was able to do. She could spy on anyone, anytime. "So that's why Erato was acting weird, she knew Melpomene was watching." Marcus remembered his talk with Thanatos, and decided to ask one last question of his Persona. 'Thanatos,' he thought, 'are you there?'

_'Of course.'_

'Yeah, sorry, stupid question, look, I want to know if I can let my friends talk to

you, and their Personas.'

_'You're quicker than uptake than your predecessor, yes you can.'_

'How?'

_'That's the easy part, I create an area in which we Personas are visible, you explain it to your friends, we chat, and we disappear, simple.'_

'So you can do that right know?'

_'Yes.'_

'Good, do it.' Marcus watched as four figures appeared. One was Kala-nemi, standing silently at Ken's shoulder. The other three, Marcus assumed, were the girls Personas. He also felt Thanatos' presence behind him. At first everyone in the room, Persona and human alike, freaked out, the humans because of the Personas, the Personas because they were visible. After everyone had clamed down, Marcus explained that he could help them talk to their Personas, and that Thanatos was the reason the Personas were visible. They all seemed to calm down a great deal after learning this, and soon began chatting with their Personas like they would any other person. Ms. Takeba's Persona, Io, seemed like she knew a great deal, but would only tell what she knew to Ms. Takeba, who now insisted on them calling her by her first name. Io was a powerful Persona, with a very Egyptian look, she was hard for Marcus to describe, and it was impossible to do her appearance justice with words. Erato, Mika's Persona, had the appearance of a beautiful young woman, who carried a harp, and she floated on a large, heart shaped platform. She had a very light, happy personality, and talked almost constantly about love. Fu's Persona was almost a total opposite of Mika's. Melpomene was just as beautiful as Erato, but she hid her face and figure behind heavy black cloaks. She too held an instrument, but hid that too from view. Kala-nemi remained silent and stationary, and only spoke short, one word sentences, and only when spoken to. He was very respectful, but did have his own views of the world. Thanatos, despite his appearance, was quite talkative. He told all of them about what he was able to do in battle, and even recounted some of his more daring and spectacular battles. Before they knew it class was over. Marcus was actually excited for his next class, Gym. He felt better than he had in weeks, like having a Persona had given him a super charge, and he was ready to show off for Mika. Ken, who before had easily out classed him in every sport, now struggled to keep up. Marcus was faster, stronger, and tougher. He felt like he could take on twenty Shadows and win hands down. Mr. Iori was very impressed by his improvement. Mika had cheered until her voice was almost gone. The rest of the day sped past. When the bell rang to signal school's end for the day, Marcus already had his things and was ready to go where ever Mika wanted. To his dismay, she invited Ken and Fu again, but before they could leave, they were intercepted by Mr. Sanada. He told then that they were needed in the schools faculty room right away. Marcus tried to convince Mika to ditch the dumb meeting, but failed. She pulled him along, but as long as she was there, he didn't mind. All the teachers were at eh meeting, as well as his class, but there was someone else there too, another woman, and a dog. They listened carefully to what Ms. Kirijo was saying, as did all of them. Then they heard a loud crash form somewhere outside the building. Marcus glanced at his watch. 12:00, midnight, the Dark Hour had begun. All of the teachers stood, they had been talking for so long that no one had noticed the time fly by. They heard another crash, this time inside the school. The crashes continued to grow in sound and frequency, and seemed to be getting closer. All of the teachers pulled Evokers out of hidden holsters, and Mitsuru handed Evokers to Marcus, Mika, and Fu. Fu was the most frightened, because her Persona was unable to truly fight, but she was comforted by Fuuka, who's Persona also lacked the ability to fight. She explained that they were special, that they could help without fighting. Marcus was ready for what ever it was. Or so he thought. Without warning the door was ripped off its hinges, and on the other side a massive Shadow, larger than the one Marcus had killed. Luckily there were two doors to the office, but the other was locked. That didn't stop them long, however, because Junpei summoned his Persona, Trismegistus, who blew the other door into oblivion. Meanwhile, Mitsuru's and Akihiko's Personas, Artemisia and Caesar, were holding the Shadow at bay, but once the other door was open, the entire party quickly retreated. They continued to run, the Shadow on their heels, until they were outside. Then all of them summoned their Personas. Even the dog had a Persona, a large three headed black dog. The odd woman also had a Persona, which she called Athena. Fu and Fuuka were behind the rest of the group, using their Personas to scan the gigantic Shadow for a weakness, but found none. No matter what they threw at it, it kept coming. Thanatos' sword couldn't lay a scratch on it, fire, wind, ice, lightning; even the dark and light elements didn't leave a mark. Just when they had given up hope, another man exited the school. He walked slowly, calmly, but with an air of immense power. The Shadow itself slunk away from him in fear. He walked past it, right up to Yukari, hugged her gently, and asked to borrow her Evoker, as he didn't seem to have his. She quickly handed it over. The man then turned to face the retreating Shadow. He put the Evoker to his head, pulled the trigger, and the ground in the Shadows path exploded. The beast turned, began to bear down on the man, who held his ground, and fired again. Another explosion, this time in the Shadows face. The monster howled and roared in pain, rearing back in surprise. Then it coiled, tensed it self, preparing to strike. It never stood a chance. The man pulled the trigger a third time, and this time called the name 'Messiah'. A Persona appeared. It had the appearance of a human in armor, except for the helmet, and had a large object on its back. The object looked like the blade of a sword, but at the base of the blade two wings like arms extended. Also, attached to its left arm by a chain, were four coffins, identical to the ones Thanatos carried. The Persona raised its right hand, and there gathered a ball of pure energy. Then it aimed the ball at the huge Shadow, and from the sphere fired an almighty bolt of blinding light. After his sight had returned, Marcus saw that both the Shadow and Messiah were gone, and the man was unconscious on the ground. Marcus didn't know what to do, that guy had destroyed a Shadow he couldn't even scratch. Marcus felt like a pathetic little child. He had thought he was some kind of super hero, but he was just a dumb kid. All of the adults, Ken, and the dog were all gathering around the man. Mika was checking on Fu, to be sure she was alright, and then she came over to him. Marcus was alright, but he couldn't understand why they needed him, or any of them for that matter, when they had a guy who could use that kind of power. He told this to Mika, who felt the same way he did, that they weren't needed. Marcus held her hand tight, trying to reassure her that everything would be alright, but his hand was as unsteady as hers. Together they walked up to the rest of the group, and asked how the man was. He was fine, just asleep. When Marcus asked who he was, all Mitsuru was willing to say was that she would tell them later. Marcus couldn't take it any more. "No, damn it, you're going to tell me now, who is that guy? What are the Shadows? Why are we fighting, and what does this Dark Hour shit have to do with all this crap?"

"Marcus don't, I think we're all tired, maybe we..."

"No, Mika. If it was just me I wouldn't mind, but you and Fu, as well as all the other students, your all involved in this. To be absolutely true, if you weren't involved, I probably wouldn't care so much, but you are, and I'm not gonna let you put your life on the line for a reason we don't even know! So, I want to know, why the hell do you need us, when sleeping beauty there can vaporize an army of Shadows in one attack?"

"The reason we need new Persona users is..." Mitsuru paused, "...it's because the Shadows are growing, in number and power, and he can't help us."

"Why not?" Fu asked, she had composed herself again, and was looking as emotionally empty as usual. "He destroyed that Shadow like a fire burns paper, so why can't he help us? With his power, we could defeat what ever is coming with ease!"

"He can not help us, because he is asleep. It is not an ordinary sleep, and we do not know when, or if, he will ever wake again." At first Marcus was unsure who had spoken, but then he recalled the odd lady. He could see her face now. She had blonde hair, and blue eyes. Her skin was a very white color, but she still managed to look very nice. What threw him off was that she had no feet. Her legs ended at her ankles. At first he assumed it was a birth defect or something like that, but as he looked he noticed more things wrong with her. She had no ears, in their place were what looked like metal earmuffs, and her shoulders were also metallic. Her fingers were metal too, and on one hand the tips were missing, and what looked like an ammunition clip was attached to the fore arm of the same arm. "Who, and what, are you?" he asked.

"I am Aigis, and I am a robotic human."

"What the, a robot, a robot Persona user?"

"Yes, I was made to fight Shadows, and though I have changed a great deal from my original self, I am still a machine, but a machine that lives."

"A machine can't live! This is stupid, tell me the truth!"

"It is the truth, and I AM alive." Marcus gave up; there were stranger things than a living robot to deal with. "Ok, so he can't help, but how are we supposed to fight shit like that? I mean the normal ones, fine, but that thing was crazy, we couldn't even scratch it."

"That's easy," Akihiko spoke now, "we practice, we grow stronger, and we hunt them, and bring them down."

"Yeah, but how do we find them?"

"That's even easier, Tartarus."

"Tartarus, what's that?" Mika asked. Marcus had gone silent, remembering what Igor had said, 'The Dark Hour is back because Tartarus is back.' "Tartarus, the great tower of demise, home of Shadows, throne of the almighty Nyx, birthplace of the Apprizer, Death." said a voice from behind Marcus. He turned to look at the owner, and heard Akihiko mutter, "Takaya, you son of a bitch, I thought you were dead."

"Nyx has shown me her limitless favor, and protected me like one of her blessed children. Her defeat did sadden me, but it also freed me from the imminent death my Persona promised."

"So your Persona is gone, but then how are you awake now?"

"I said I was freed of that imminent death, but not the power my Person provided, no; Hypnos is still mine, only now he obeys me with out me using suppressants. I have gained power beyond your comprehension, and seeing as your once great leader is now helpless, I think now is the perfect opportunity to kill all of you." Takaya drew from his belt a revolver, but he had no Evoker. Marcus wasn't reassured by this, Thanatos had told him of Persona users who didn't need Evokers; Takaya must be one of them. Marcus pulled his Evoker from its holster on his belt, and put it to his head, pulling the trigger, and calling Thanatos. Takaya smiled, and putting a hand to his head, summoned his Persona, Hypnos. Hypnos was a thin, frail looking boy, but had large, blood red wings, and an evil grin. Marcus remembered a class on mythology he had taken, in it he learned that Hypnos and Thanatos were brothers, and laughed in his mind. Thanatos slashed and cleaved the air as he tried to strike Hypnos, but he was fast, and kept pummeling Thanatos with bolts of force. Finally his blade met its mark, and took one of Hypnos' arms off without much difficulty. Marcus was so focused on the fight he didn't see Takaya raise his gun and fire, and by the time he heard the gunshot, it was too late, the bullet had already found its target, his shoulder. Marcus crumpled in pain, and watched in horror as Hypnos blew Thanatos out of existence. Marcus could feel Thanatos' demise, could feel as the part of his mind that Thanatos had occupied was vacated. Takaya stopped then, though if he did so out of pity, regret, or spite, was unsure. But what was sure was that he left as quickly as he came, sparing Marcus' life. Mika ran to Marcus' side, her face streaked with tears. Even Fu was worried about him, but Mika pushed her away, and drew her Evoker. She put it to her head, pulled the trigger, and told Erato to heal Marcus' arm, which she did with great speed. Though his physical wound was healed, the scars left on his mind were fresh and permanent. He had lost a friend, his Persona, and he felt bare without it. Thanatos had been his strength, and without it, what good was he? He asked him self that question over and over again, but couldn't find the answer. For the rest of the week, after school Marcus would simple return to the dorm, lock himself in his room, and cry.


	6. Chapter 4

Prologue

Chapter 4: Changing

Marcus continued to feel hollow, even after Mika had managed to draw him out of his room. For her he tried to act as if he felt alright, but when she wasn't around he slipped back into a silent, unresponsive state. Marcus knew that had he not had Mika there with him, he would have fallen apart already. Then something shook him out of his self-pity, and gave him the strength to fight again. It happened on a day like any other. School had just gotten out, and Marcus and Mika had gone to the shrine. It was quiet like it normally was, but there were a few kids playing on the equipment the shrine had set up for them. A man was there as well, watching over the kids. After a while Mika got up and went to get some drinks, leaving Marcus on the bench. It was than the man walked over, and sat next to Marcus. "Hey kid, what's your name?"

"Marcus."

"I'm Kazushi, I was a star athlete for Gekkoukan High, but you aren't going to it, you're in that new school, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is it true that Mitsuru Kirijo is the one running that school?"

"Yeah."

"She was friends with a friend of mine. He was an odd guy, but pretty popular. Really quiet too, but he was a ladies man. Another chick in our class, Yukari, was nuts about him. I heard they were a couple for a while. Anyway, seeing you reminded me of troubles I had when I was your age. That guy helped me out, helped me figure out what I needed to do, and I thought you could use someone to do the same for you. So what's got you down?"

"I, I lost my strength, and without it I can't protect her."

"Sounds familiar, you see way back when, I had a problem with my knee, and if I didn't get it fixed, I'd end up crippled. But at the same time, there was a tournament I'd promised someone I'd win, and if I had the surgery to fix the problem, I wouldn't be able to compete, so I had a decision to make. If I competed I'd end up crippled, but if I didn't my promise would be broken. If it hadn't been for that guy, I probably wouldn't have done anything. But he taught me something, that you can't help anyone, until you fix your own problems, and if you're crippled, you should let others help you, and get yourself together. Then you can worry about protecting your girlfriend, besides, she looks like she can take care of herself."

"Your right, I do need to get back what I lost, and I have friends who are willing to help me, I just didn't see it. Thanks Mr. Kazushi, your friend would be proud." Marcus felt a new strength, not as strong as Thanatos was, but a power that was even more his than Thanatos. A new voice took the post Thanatos had left empty. He could see in his mind his Persona, a young man, wearing a pure white toga, with elegant white wings. The Persona radiated with a power Marcus saw as his own, not just his Persona's. The Persona introduced itself as Eros, and Marcus was happy to accept it as his. He knew that Eros was not as strong as Thanatos, but that would change. They would train until their power matched, and then surpassed Thanatos. He felt like he had been given a new path, a path he could shape. After a minute or two, Mika retuned, and Marcus told her about his new Persona, and how happy he was to have her by him. They returned to the dorms together, not noticing the time. Just out side the dorms; they were ambushed by a group of Shadows. Marcus actually laughed, the first time in a week, and pulled out his Evoker. He summoned Eros, and together they destroyed the Shadows without trouble. Eros was more powerful in magic than in physical fighting, which made him a unique ally. Mika didn't even have time to summon her Persona before Marcus had blasted the last of them into the next century. "Wow, you really are back to your old self, aren't you?"

"No, not my old self, I realized that you and the others have been trying so hard to help me, and I wasn't helping myself. I owe you big time, Mika. I just wish there was something I could do for you, to pay you back for not giving up on a loser like me."

"You don't have to pay me back, I love you, and I'd never give up on you, no matter how far you fall."

"I love you too, Mika. I'll always be here for you, and I'll protect you as long as I have life in my body."

"Just don't get yourself killed; of I'll beat the life back into you." Marcus kissed Mika goodbye, and then headed to the boys dorm. He was stopped at the door by Ken, who tried to cuss Marcus out for being so late, but Marcus just thanked Ken and went right up to his room. The next day their class was called to the faculty room after school. The damage done by the huge Shadow had been repaired quickly, and explained to the other students as a pipe explosion. Only Fuuka, Akihiko, Yukari, and Aigis were in the office when they arrived. Akihiko explained that he and Fuuka would be accompanying them on their first visit to Tartarus. Ken protested that it wasn't his first visit, but Akihiko told him that he would be the in field leader, and that he was in charge when they entered the tower. Marcus did not object to the arrangement, a choice that dumbfounded everyone else but Mika, who knew the new Marcus first hand. They had all expected him to argue for his being leader, but he told them he knew Ken was the best choice, as he had more experience. Yukari applauded the change, as did Fuuka and Aigis, but Akihiko was disappointed, he had hoped he would have to take the job to keep them from arguing. He told the class to meet outside the front gate of Gekkoukan High School just before midnight. They all returned to the dorms to prepare, but when Marcus returned to his room, he found a gift waiting for him. The package was long and thin, and had a small tag with 'From Igor' written on it. He opened the box, expecting some horrible snake, but was surprised to see a sword, a sword he recognized. It was a scaled down version of Thanatos' sword, made small enough for him to wield, but even then, it was as tall as him. He lifted it, and found it very light, so much so that he could swing it with one hand, although it was easier to use both. 'Thanks Igor' he thought, and clipped the sword onto his belt. In the common room of the dorm he found Ken, who now carried a large spear that looked as though it had seen a fair few fights, and won them all. "Nice sword."

"Thanks, nice spear."

"Thanks. Hey that sword looks familiar, where did you get it?"

"It was a gift, and it looks familiar because it's a smaller version of Thanatos'."

"Really? Cool, but the real question is if you can use it."

"You kidding? I wasn't ranked number one in my Kendo club for nothing!"

"Good, you can't always rely on your Persona, you'll tire yourself out."

"Yeah. Besides, I want to teach the little snot blobs a lesson my self."

"They aren't always the little black blobs you've seen. They come in all shapes and sizes, or at least most of the shapes, and plenty of sizes." They both laughed at the bad joke, but it was more about calming their nerves than being funny. They left a little before eleven thirty and picked up the girls. Fu didn't have any weapon, but she wouldn't need one. Mika was wearing a pair of brass knuckles, which made Marcus chuckle slightly. She punched him in the arm, and he laughed no more. She informed him that in her old school she had been on the girl's boxing team, and had beaten up more then a couple of the members of the boy's team. Marcus took her word for it, but she was quick to start rubbing his arm where she had hit it, apologizing for not warning him. He told her not to worry, it was his fault. Ken marveled at how well they responded to each other, revving each other up, but at the same time keeping each other focused and in control. They really were a good couple, and he wished them the best. Fu remained almost silent, only whispering occasionally to Mika. It was almost midnight when they arrived at the high school's front gate. Fuuka and Akihiko were already there. Akihiko told Ken off for cutting it so close, but Marcus took the blame, and Mika joined him. Akihiko gave up on being strict. He told them that it was under Mitsuru's advice that he was being so up tight. They all told him not to worry, and their attention became focused on the task ahead. Akihiko pulled out a pair of metal gloves, which Mika saw and began pestering him about where he had gotten them, and if he was a boxer. She was thrilled when he said he had been a boxer in school, because that confirmed her theory that he was _the _Akihiko Sanada, the undefeated boxing champion from Tatsumi Port Island. She kept pestering him, until Marcus made the comment that he was getting worried that she might dump him and try to date Akihiko-sensei. When he said that she turned bright red and began apologizing to both of them, causing Fu to laugh. It was the first time any of them but Mika had heard her laugh, and they all wondered why she didn't do it more often. When they asked she fell silent again. Marcus checked his watch, just in time to see the hands tick away the last few seconds to midnight. All the streetlight popped off, and the hum of electricity that usually filled the area, vanished. After another second, Gekkoukan began to shift and grow, extending up toward the sky. After a couple of minutes the school had turned into a giant tower. The tower was so tall that the top was completely impossible to see from the ground at its base. The entrance of the school was nothing like how it had been. The front door was massive, stand about four or five times taller than any of them. It the center was a large clock, which seemed to be counting down, or at least going backwards. They entered, and saw that the inside was as strange as the outside. A large flight of stairs led up to a giant clock, with a door shaped hole in its front. What got Marcus was that the clock was either being held up by the stairs, whose high end wasn't being held up by any thing, or the clock was floating. Akihiko explained the Fu would stay with Fuuka, and learn from her how best to use her powers. Akihiko would be going with them into the labyrinth. Ken would take the lead, making the tactical decisions. They made ready to go in, but Marcus stopped. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the door Thanatos had shown him, the door to the Velvet Room. He walked up to it, Mika right behind him. She asked him what the door was, which surprised him because he thought she couldn't see it. He told her about his trip through it with Thanatos, but couldn't open it without the key. He put his hands in his pockets, and in one felt a key. He pulled it out, and recognized it as the velvet key. Marcus put it in the keyhole of the door, and turned it, hearing the click of the lock. They pushed the door open and entered. The room was as he remembered it, although now it was better lit by a series of candles. "It seems our guest have a habit of bringing others. Come, Marcus, we got off on the wrong foot. Allow me to apologize for my rudeness on our first meeting. I trust you like the sword I gave you?"

"Yes, thank you very much. Oh, by the way, this is my girlfriend, Mika."

"Hi."

"A pleasure, Miss, I assure you. Elizabeth, please draw up another chair for her, would you?"

"Yes, sir." The woman in the velvet dress pulled another chair seemingly out of nowhere and put it down beside the chair already present on the other side of the small table from where Igor sat on a couch. "Thank you very much, Miss Elizabeth."

"Not a problem."

"Now, to the matter at hand. It has come to my attention that Thanatos has met his end. Is this true?"

"Yes, a Persona user named Takaya and his Persona, Hypnos, destroyed him."

"Humph, those two have been a thorn in my side for longer than I care to admit. Hypnos is a particularly sadistic little bastard, forgive my crude language Miss. He takes joy in the pain of others, even the human he is bound to. He, like his brother, is capable of being used by more then one human. I do not know if you know this, but I shall tell you anyway. Just as there are Personas that can have multiple users, there are users that can have multiple Personas. Elizabeth is one such person; the man who saved you on the night of Thanatos' demise is another. Just like their Persona counterparts, they are few and far between. In fact it is actually an almost unheard of situation to have a Multi-user Persona being used by any but a Multi-Persona user. You and Takaya are the only cases known to me where a Persona like that is used by a person without the ability to use multiple Personas. You are unique in that you already had a Persona, but Thanatos somehow managed to suppress it and take its place. In Takaya's case he had no Persona to begin with, and so it was easy for Hypnos to implant himself, although I think he wasn't a willing participant at first. This is all beside the point, and time is not limitless. Memento mori and all that."

"Wait, memento mori?"

"Hm? Oh, memento mori is a phrase in the language you know as Latin. Roughly translated it means 'remember you are mortal' or 'remember you will die'. It is a very world weary phrase, but one that is absolutely true. Time is inescapable, delivering us all equally to the same end. But what is important is what you do with your time, not how much you have. But I suppose to you this is just an old man's ramblings, now, shall we go?"

"Where?"

"Why, back to the real world, where else? I have not been out of the velvet room in some time. Elizabeth, would you care to join us?"

"No, thank you, I have much cleaning to do if this place is to be made decent for future visits."

"Heh, well, if you're certain, there isn't much I can do to change your mind. I'll be back shortly." From thin air Igor grabbed a cane, scarf, and top hat. After arranging the hat and scarf about his head, he took his cane in hand and made his way to the door. Marcus and Mika were quick to follow, not wanting to be locked in the room. The main hall of Tartarus was as they had left it, as though they had never been gone. Akihiko was speechless, because to him, Marcus had Mika had teleported across the room and an old man had appeared out of nothingness. Fuuka and Fu had been aware of the change, and its cause, but only due to their Personas. Ken was the least surprised, but not because he what was going on. He had just prepared himself for the bizarre. Igor was quick to introduce himself and even quicker in learning as much as he could about the current situation. He was very insistent about joining them on their trip into the tower. Akihiko was reluctant, but Igor assured him that he would not be the slightest hindrance. As if to provide him with an opportunity to prove himself, a Shadow came darting into the room. Igor put the first two fingers of his right hand to the same side of his head, and muttered, "Prometheus." A man wreathed in flame appeared and in a flash of flame, the Shadow was gone. Marcus whistled. Mika stayed silent. Akihiko continued to try and give reasons why Igor couldn't come with them, but they all lacked strength. Eventually Akihiko gave up. He was out of excuses. Igor was pleased that Akihiko had given in. He was eager to see what they could do in combat. They gathered themselves and entered the doorway in the clock. Akihiko explained that Tartarus' floors were always changing; they were never the same twice. He also told them to keep an eye out for cases, because they usually held money, or useful items. Sometimes the case would be gold, and the item inside extremely rare. He told them that their old leader, the sleeping guy, had once gotten an orb that protected him from all but the strongest attacks. They decided that they would only go thought the first floor, so that Marcus and Mika could get a feel for the Dark Hour, and fighting in it. They went a short distance and immediately came upon a Shadow. It was like the blob ones they had seen before, but the mask was different. It was blue, and had a sad look to it. It also had a 1 etched on the forehead. The Shadow turned, saw them, and lunged at them. Ken was the closest to it, and before it could get close enough to slash at him, he skewered it on his spear, and hefted it into the air. It flew off the spear tip, straight at Mika, who punched it out of the air, right at Marcus, who cleaved it in half. The two chunks of matter splattered on the wall behind him. Igor gave them an enthusiastic round of applause. They continued on in a similar pattern for the rest of the hour, walk, see Shadow, kill Shadow, repeat. By the end of the hour Marcus and Mika where asleep on their feet, and Ken and Akihiko were beginning to feel groggy. Igor was awake as ever, but knew the importance of sleep for his new friends, a term he had not used in a long time. They found a green device at the end of one of the hall, and Akihiko explained that they were the only way to get back to the first floor. Unfortunately, they weren't on all the floors, so while climbing the tower, you had to gauge your strength carefully, or you could end up trapped. They walked into the device, and were instantly returned to the first floor. Fuuka and Fu were already fast asleep, and Mika was read to pass out. Igor returned to the velvet room, giving an elegant wave of his hat before shutting the door. Then each of the guys picked up one of the girls, Marcus took Mika, Akihiko chose Fuuka, and Ken was left to carry Fu. For some reason Ken was bright red in the face all the way home, but Marcus knew it couldn't be strain, Mika and Fu weighed about the same. They dropped Mika and Fu off at their dorm; they had recuperated enough to get themselves back to their rooms. At the boys dorm Akihiko left them, saying he'd get Fuuka back to her apartment, and then go home himself. The boys barely made it to their rooms before crashing face first onto their beds. Marcus was thankful that the next day was his day off, because he slept in until noon. Even though he had been so tired the night before, now he felt great. He went downstairs after getting dressed, and saw Mika, Fu, and Ken. Mika was at the bottom of the stair, her face bright red, glaring at Ken and Fu, who were chatting, very quietly. None of them knew he was there, so he decided to wait and see what the problem was. He knew Mika would eventually bring up the subject again; she couldn't leave an argument unfinished. Fu would stay silent, that was her way, and it was effective too. It was hard to argue with a person who doesn't talk. Ken looked like a bystander, caught in the cross fire. He would try to defuse the argument before things got too loud or rough, but he was one guy between two girls. Marcus felt sorry for him, but it was easier for him to learn the problem from where he was, than getting involved. Mika finally spoke, "Look, Fu, I don't care what you think about him, I love him and there isn't much I can do about it! You may be my friend, but you aren't being a very good one right now."

"All I said was that I think you deserve better than a pin-head like Marcus. He's a loser, once we get rid of the Dark Hour, he'll be just another guy, and I just don't get what you see in him. I'll never understand why you fell for an idiot like him."

"Shut the hell up! Don't you dare call him an idiot! He's brave, and strong, and smart, and I love him! Just because you can't find someone to care about doesn't mean that I can't either!" Fu jumped out of her chair, knocking it to the floor. "You think you're the only person with feelings here, don't you? You think you're the first girl ever to fall in love! Listen to me, I went out with a guy like him once, and I ended up with a broken heart and an unwillingness to date. I don't want that to happen to you, Mika, your too kind and good a person for that to happen to."

"Fu," Ken stood, slowly, as if he was about to say was a great burden, "Mika has her feelings, and you yours. It isn't my place to tell either of you how to feel, or whether either of you are right or wrong, but I can say this, it isn't your place to tell each other how to feel or act. It is the right of every being in existence to make its own choices, and its own mistakes." Both of the girls fell silent, and Fu turned as red as Mika. Fu sat back down, and Mika sat on the bottom stair step. Marcus knew the argument wasn't over, and he couldn't step in until it was. This was between Fu and Mika, and he was the subject. He knew that if he was there the argument wouldn't be resolved, that would cause problems in Tartarus. Fu spoke first this time, "Mika I just want you to hear me out. I worry that one day he's going to do or say something that'll hurt you, or completely destroy you. I don't know if he will, he might be the guy you think he is, but if he isn't, I don't want you to be hurt like I was."

"I understand that, Fu, but you've got to understand that I really do love him. I'm sure that some day you'll fell the way I feel now. I hope you find a guy who can make you fell like I feel right now about him."

"Well, you two, there is one other reason, besides stopping you from going to fists, for me to stay here. It is because there was something I wanted to tell you Fu. I wanted to tell you somewhere less public, but I guess now's as good a time as any. I, well I, you see, I, uh, um, shit, why is this so damn easy for everybody else?" Marcus sighed, and came down the stairs like he had only heard the bit Ken had said. "Spit it out, Ken, or if you'd prefer, I'll tell her for you."

"No, no, I'll say it. It's just that, well you see, Fu, it's um..."

"I'm gonna make it easy for you, first say 'I'."

"I..."

"Then you say 'Love'. And if you can't finish that sentence, then I give up on you."

"Alright, alright. Here goes nothing, Fu I really like you a lot. I was hoping you would go out with me."

"Wow, Ken. I thought you'd take all day. Now as far as if she'll reject you or say yes, oof..." Mika elbowed Marcus in the gut. If it were possible for Fu to get any redder in the face, then she had. She looked like he had asked her to marry him. After what felt like a half hour, she gave a tiny, almost invisible, nod. Ken didn't believe he had seen it, and asked her if she had nodded. Another tiny nod, although more obvious than the first. Ken was so happy he leapt out of his chair, high into the air, did a back flip, and landed perfectly on the floor behind it. Fu smiled a large, warm smile. She looked like a whole different person, a much happier person. Mika kept talking about how nice a couple they made, and how well suited they were for each other. Marcus waited patiently for the newly formed couple to calm down and get their heads back on strait, before suggesting that they celebrate by going out on the town. He suggested another karaoke night, and the rest agreed, as long as they sang as couples, Mika with Marcus, and Fu with Ken. They were in luck, because the club was having a slow night and there were plenty of unoccupied parlors. They were able to get a parlor that would normally be reserved for large groups of up to ten people. The furniture was very comfortable, and Marcus suggested staying until the Dark Hour, so that on the way home they could kick some Shadow butt. He had thought ahead and grabbed Ken and his weapons from their dorm. Mika had her brass knuckles on her, just in case, and they all had their Evokers, because Akihiko had told them to keep them on them at all times. Ken was game, as was Mika, and Fu didn't have much choice. "First things first, though. Until the Dark Hour, we party!" They all cheered. Mika insisted the Ken and Fu go first, and then they took turns form there. For the first song, the new couple chose a perky, up beat pop song. Ken, it turned out, also had a decent singing voice, but he couldn't compare to Fu. Even though she didn't use her voice often, it was very beautiful. Marcus didn't say this out loud; however, he wasn't that foolish. After they finished it was Mika and Marcus' turn. They chose the sappiest, gushiest love song they could find, and sang with gusto. The couples took turns for another hour, and then decided to switch up the teams. The guys and girls would sing together. Marcus volunteered Ken and himself for the first song with the new teams. The boys chose the loudest heavy metal song on the list, and cranked up the volume. Midway through the song, the lights cut out, as did all the power. Marcus grinned, now the real party could begin. They pulled out their gear, checked it, and headed out of the club, Fu staying behind to provide support. As they left they saw a large Shadow with a 1 mask make its way toward the center of the mall. Marcus suggested a sneak attack, which was accepted unanimously. But before they had a chance to attack, a huge bolt of energy blasted the Shadow into tiny pieces. The source of the energy bolt landed silently, next to the space the Shadow had occupied. The thing was human in shape and size, but beyond that it looked nothing like a normal person. Its right arm from the elbow down looked like a cannon, with the back half, from elbow to mid-forearm, was split open into four strips, and between the strips was a black sphere. The thing's entire body was pitch black, except for its eyes, which glowed a spiteful red. The creature leered at the stain the Shadow had left behind, and then turned to where Marcus, Mika and Ken were standing. The eyes squinted, and then opened wide. It raised its right arm and pointed the barrel end of it at them. The orb in its arm began to glow, and the barrel began to turn red with the heat of the blast it was holding back. The thing fired, but the blast was knocked out of the air by another creature. This one was also very human in appearance, but it too had characteristics that made it distinctly not human. It had several tentacles attached to its back, and they appeared to be able to extend and retract at their master's will. The face of the newcomer had a mouth with canines that extended out past is lips, both upper and lower. Its eyes like the others were red, but there was no hate in them, only boredom. "Get out of here!" the new thing yelled. "He's our problem, not yours."

"Our?" At that moment another person arrived. This time the newcomer was a human, although a very tall and muscular human. He had dark hair and a strong face, but his eyes were gentle, even kind. He carried a large hammer, and swung it with one hand. "Milton, who are those kids?"

"How the hell should I know Matt?"

"Did you try asking them?"

"Shit, don't we have more important things to do?"

"Well, yeah, ok, first we help Michael, and then we talk."

"Alright, I get to let loose a little." The second man, Milton, crossed the distance to the first one, Michael, in an instant. He was fast, but that didn't do him much good when he was greeted on his arrival with a fist to the face. But he was strong too, holding his ground against a blow that would have decked a normal person. The third man had walked over to them and struck up and casual conversation in no time. "Don't worry, Milton's got this covered. Every now and then Michael loses control and we've got to knock him out to help him regain it. So what are you kids doing here, clearly your Persona users, oh, and tell the fourth one to come out, she doesn't need to hide." Ken fetched Fu from the room. "So then what are your names?"

"Ken Amada."

"Benehime Fumitsu, Fu for short."

"Marcus Hasegawa."

"Mika Arai."

"And I am Matt. The all black fellow is Michael, and the other guy is Milton. None of us have last names, so we don't really have any family either. I bet your wondering why those two look the way the do. Well, Milton has the ability to fuse with his Persona. It gives him a boost of strength, and he can use all his Persona's powers, but he gets real tired, real quick. Michael is even more unique, because he's a Persona user, but he can also transform into a Shadow form, which is what you see know. Normally he's a nice guy, although he'll never admit it. It's only when he loses control of his Shadow self that he gets like this. As for me, the only special thing I can do is channel my Persona's power into my hammer. Gives it one heck of a punch, but if I'm not careful I could level a building." Marcus made a mental note not to piss these guys off. The other two guys were still trading punches, and Marcus wondered how much longer the dark hour would last. Then Milton got lucky, Michael was distracted by a Shadow with bad enough luck to fall into view. He raised his gun-arm and blasted the unfortunate blob to shreds, and was knocked out by a strong punch to the head from Milton. The blackness that coated him faded and melted away as he fell to the floor. At the same time Milton's Persona self also disappeared. Beneath the Persona form Milton looked like a normal human, almost. His hair was long and pure white, and his hands were slightly larger then normal, and in place of nails he had sharp claws. Michael was even more average looking, out of the three he stood out the least. His dirty blonde hair reached to the middle of his back, and a rough, scrubby beard obscured his face. He looked like he hadn't had a good night's sleep in weeks, but what stood out most about him were his eyes. Underneath the hair his eyes were locked on to Marcus and his friends. They looked like they had seen the worlds end, and it hadn't been pretty. His eyes almost glowed with a deep energy, but the also carried an immeasurable sorrow. "Matt, where are we, who are these kids?"

"It's Tatsumi Port Island, the mall. As for the kids, well, they won't cause any trouble."

"I say we get rid of..."

"Shut up, Milton. What you say is irrelevant, I am in charge, not you. As for the children, as long as they swear to say nothing about us to anyone, I don't see why they can't go."

"But, how can we..."

"Silence."

"Michael, he's got a point, how can we trust them? I personally just believe that they are good kids, but I know you, you need tangible proof."

"I don't know, maybe the loss of blood is getting to me..." Michael collapsed, and a pool of blood spread out from his body. "Holy shit, Matt, get down here!"

"I guess that Shadow hit him harder than he thought."

"No, he knew how hard it hit him; he just didn't say anything, stupid jerk. One of these days he's gonna get himself killed."

"You know they could..."

"No, it's bad enough they know our names."

"Pick him up." While the two had been talking, so had Marcus and his group. There was nothing to do but help them, after all, three Persona users as powerful as them would be a great addition to the team. "We have friends who can get him taken care of."

"No, no way, he'd kill us if we let you do that." Matt didn't seem to be joking. "Why?"

"He hates relying on people, because he thinks it'll make him weak. I wish we could take you up on that offer, but..." Mika slapped him. "Pick him up, and grow some balls. Your friend is almost dead and you're worried about your sorry ass. Let me make the choice easy, pick him up or I'll kill you."

"I'd do what she says," Marcus said, "she's scarier than your friend, even when he's a Shadow." The two were quick to obey. "Be quick, the Dark Hour is almost up." Fu usually stood in the back, out of view, but somehow Ken asking her out had brought her out of her shell. Marcus was focused on the moment, and Mika was pretty much in charge, Ken wasn't going to get in her way. They knew the only place to take him was to Mitsuru; she had the resources needed to save his life, and they needed to be quick, as the Dark Hour had already ended. Luckily Ken had his phone, and Mitsuru's number, so he was able to contact her and give her a shortened version of what happened, and asking her for help. Mitsuru told them to go straight to the school that she would be there with the equipment they needed. When they arrived Mitsuru had come through on her word, an ambulance to a private, Kirijo owned hospital was waiting on the street in front of the school, along with Mitsuru and two paramedics. The paramedics knew about the Dark Hour, but couldn't function in it, but were happy to help in any way they could. They were very skilled, taking Michael's pulse and temperature, as well as several other reading Marcus didn't understand, while assuring his friends the he would be just fine. Matt and Milton were talking quietly to each other, planning their next move, but Mitsuru had taken care of that as well. Behind the ambulance was a limo, ready to take all of them home. When the two men explained that they didn't have a home, Mitsuru told them that too had been taken care of. She had reserved them two rooms in a nice hotel. Matt tried to turn down the generous offer, but with Milton and Mitsuru pestering him to take the offer, he couldn't refuse. Ken had the duty of explaining the full situation, as best he could, to Mitsuru. She was unhappy with Marcus for making them stay up until the Dark Hour, and not going to Tartarus, but they were all to tire to care much, and what was done was done. At least they had three new allies against the Shadows.


	7. Chapter 5

Prologue

Chapter 5: Strega and Sable

It was a whole week before Michael regained consciousness. During that week Marcus and the others had made great progress in Tartarus. They had gone up twenty floors, and had gained a great deal of strength in the process. Eros had begun to display the ability to unleash a variety of elements, which meant he could be effective against a various enemies. Erato finally began using offensive abilities, which was a great help. Kala-nemi, who had been incredibly strong before, had grown even stronger. Matt and Milton had been very friendly, even helping in Tartarus, but when the subject of their past came up, they invariably told who ever asked to wait and ask Michael when he woke up. So when he did finally awake, every one was eager to hear the whole story. Michael didn't seem surprised to wake up in a hospital, nor was he surprised that so many people were interested in their story. He said that he knew that something like this would have happened eventually, and so he had prepared himself for it. He told them that before he told them the truth, anyone who wasn't willing to know how they had suffered should leave. No one left. "Alright, you've all set your minds, and don't care about the obstacles you'll face. Good, you just might be able to handle this then. I trust that at the very least you, Ms. Kirijo, know something about your great grandfather's actions, and Strega?"

"Yes, I know what he did to those poor souls, and I will never forget."

"Hmph, how about the rest of you?" Mitsuru had filled Marcus, Fu, and Mika in on Strega after their encounter with Takaya, so none of them were in the dark. "They were the result of some experiment right?"

"Yes, and so were we. The difference was, in Strega they just wanted to make Persona users, with us they wanted to make Persona users with powers far beyond those of a normal person. They called that project Sable. I, Matt, and Milton were the only ones subjected to it, and that is something to be thankful for. Actually Milton was an accident. He was originally in Strega, but it turned out he already had a Persona, so what happened was the Persona they put into him fused with his own Persona, making it amazingly powerful, so powerful that it changed his body. His hands and hair, as you can see. It also gave him the ability to become a variation of his Persona. Matt had it the worst out of all of us. He was forced to go through major surgeries to implant wiring into his arms. The wires absorbed and channeled his Personas power, amplifying his strength and speed. He was also subjected to psychological torments that would have killed a normal person."

"But I came out of it the least damaged, you on the other hand…"

"No, I'll get to that. Matt was lucky, he had a strong religious side, and we figure that helped him keep his mind intact, even thought it couldn't do the same for his body. Milton had it easy compared to us, but that doesn't mean he was pampered. He was a fluke, a mistake, an accident, and they weren't about to destroy such an interesting misstep. They were careful with him, gentle almost."

"Ha, yeah right! They had me running ten miles every day. Picture that, a five year old running those ten miles, non-stop."

"But you must admit you didn't have it as bad as Matt or I."

"No doubt there, especially you man. They really messed you up big time. Matt would have been as bad as you if not for the religious thing."

"I tried to give you guys' faith but you refused."

"We were kids Matt, what did you expect?"

"Quiet, both of you. I would like to finish the story before the Dark Hour. As Milton said, I was the most heavily effected. Not physically, but mentally. I assume you've heard of sensory deprivation?" They all nodded. "Well, imagine spending a year or two of your life without seeing, hearing, feeling, or moving. Absolute oblivion, just you and your thoughts, except I wasn't alone, when I gained my Shadow form, I also gained an unwelcome guest. I hadn't been aware of him until I was alone with him. A small portion of my mind had changed, and gained a will of its own. In there he grew, became louder, and took more of my mind, until he became a full fledged personality. That's right; I have split personality disorder, two minds in one body. Normally I can keep him repressed, I'm still the stronger of us, but when I am greatly injured, or otherwise distracted, he has a chance to take over, and he's not one to waste such a chance."

"So that night…?"

"Yes, he was in control, you have my apologies. It is very hard for me to take control back, so Milton and Matt usually have to help by knocking him out. That's where Milton's Persona form comes in. It can be quite handy in fighting it out with a human-Shadow hybrid. Matt could do the job too, but he has to be more careful, I'm willing to bet he's told you that if he isn't careful, he can level a building. To be honest, so could Milton, but it's hard for Milton to lose control."

"What about you, what happens if you can't get back in control, and they can't help?"

"Let's put it this way," Milton interrupted, "you could kiss this whole city goodbye, every one and every thing in it, gone in one day, at most."

"Whoa." Michael took over again. "I didn't say it was something to joke about. We were made to be weapons."

"Just like me." Aigis had been silent for a long time, and when she spoke almost everyone jumped. "You are like me, made to fight Shadows."

"Wrong, not to fight Shadows, but to fight anything they wanted us to, even humans."

"I don't understand."

"Do you want to know why so few survived the Strega project? It was because of ME. They forced me to change, let him take over, and then set us loose on them. They gave them a sporting chance, the place they set us all loose was a maze, and they had Evokers, but the poor kids still didn't have a chance. HE ripped them limb form limb. I couldn't stop him, I was just a child, but I still feel the guilt, I can still see their blood on my hands."

"Michael, get off the subject. No one needs to hear it, and you don't need to relive it."

"Yeah, and I don't need my stomach doing cartwheels."

"Alright, the short story is they put us through that for almost ten years. Then fate, or something like that, gave us a hand. I'm gonna assume you know about the explosion. What you don't know is that three ten year olds escaped. For the next ten years those boys lived off the streets. Then Nyx came. Matt has told me about your little escapade five years ago, and it explains a few things, like why our Personas' strength jumped through the roof. That reminds me, you don't know my Persona yet, do you?"

"No."

"Very well, Matt, my Evoker if you please." Matt quickly handed over the Evoker. As it changed hands Marcus got his first good look at it. It looked much older than any of the others he had seen, and was painted pitch black. Michael moved like a clam professional, putting the muzzle to his temple a firing without hesitation. Next to his bed appeared what looked like a very large, metal cocoon. After a moment a section of metal on the front opened, revealing blank darkness around two blood red eyes. "This is Havoc, don't let his meager appearance fool you, he is quite powerful." Havoc then faded away, his job done. Marcus was dumbfounded by all the information he had just received. It was difficult for him to comprehend what those three had been through. Their entire lives had been nothing but struggle and hardship. Compared with that, Marcus had led a charmed life. Before anyone could protest, Michael was on his feet, pulling I.V. tubes from his arms. Everyone except Marcus, Matt, and Milton freaked out, tried to convince him to stay in bed, but Michael laughed, not a warm, happy laugh, but an artificial, forced laugh. "I've wasted too much time as it is, I need to be on my feet, training. From what Matt has told me the Shadows are stronger than ever, so you'll need our help. I can't force them to help you, but I offer my services, should they be required. First and foremost, however, I will need some cloths, as my old ones are badly damaged, and I don't plan on fighting in a hospital gown."

"Come on, Mike, it'd be fun to see a Shadow in a dress." Milton immediately regretted his words, as he was awarded a kick in the shin from Mika. "Thank you, Ms. Arai. You have saved me the trouble."

"Not a problem."

"Now could someone point me in the direction of the nearest cloths store?"

"I can do better," said Mitsuru, "I have a car out front that will take you where ever it is you need to go. And to help you find things, take Marcus and Mika with you."

"Thank you very much." Michael said quiet enough that the groan Marcus had meant only for he became audible to everyone. Mika looked ready to rip his head off, and all Marcus could do was grin sheepishly. Less than an hour latter two high school juniors and a twenty-something man in a hospital gown arrived at the local mall. 'It had to be here,' Marcus fumed silently to himself, 'I know people here; I am never gonna live this down!' As the trio entered a clothing store, it dawned on Marcus that Michael may not have any money, but was quickly relaxed as Michael, from some unknown pocket in the gown, drew an old and tattered wallet. He wasted no time in tracking down, paying for, and putting on a new set of cloths. He chose a pair of blue jeans, a white shirt, a black tie, and a long, black trench coat. When he came out of the changing room he looked like a businessman, even more so because during his stay the hospital had given him a hair cut and removed his beard. It was also the first time Marcus noticed that he wore glasses. Marcus suddenly felt that Michael was actually a cool adult, one he could be seen hanging out with and not feel weird. Michael, despite living in the area for so many years, knew little about the mall. He was most intrigued by a closed down night-club called Escapade. Marcus didn't know much about it, but Mika had become good friends with Yukari and had learned from her that it used to be a very popular place. It didn't take Michael long to get tired of the mindless wandering and suggest that they return to the dorms. As the car pulled away after dropping Marcus off at his dorm, Marcus wondered why Michael had been so interested in that club, but his train of thought was cut of as he entered the dorm, and was immediately inundated with questions from Akihiko, Junpei, and Ken, who had apparently been waiting for him. They wanted Marcus' take on Michael, if he could be trusted. Marcus didn't see why not, and blew off all the other questions on his way up to bed; it had been an exhausting day.

Marcus woke slowly the next morning, and was almost late to school. Yukari spent almost ten minutes berating him for being so careless, and would have gone on longer if Fu hadn't pointed out that they were there to learn. At the end of class Yukari told them to return to the school at about ten in the afternoon. When they asked why she only grinned and told them to wait. Marcus was so consumed with what could possibly be going on that he almost broke his leg in P.E. Junpei couldn't stop laughing for the rest of the period, and even Fu had a slight grin on her face, Marcus, however remained grumpy until Mika threatened to dump him if he didn't cheer up. At the end of class they all returned to the dorms to get their things together for what they assumed was going to be a trip to Tartarus. At ten the whole group gathered at the school, but Matt, Milton, and Michael were nowhere to be seen, and none of the adults would reveal why they were here so early. Mitsuru had a large car at the curb, and they all piled in. After a short drive they were back at the mall. As they entered nothing seemed to be different, but then Mitsuru drew their attention to Escapade, which wasn't Escapade any more. The front of the club had been repainted in dark colors, and the sign above the door had been changed to Sable. In front of the door in jeans, a sleeveless shirt, and sunglasses was Matt, looking, quite convincingly, like bouncer. He stood aside and opened the front door with one hand, following them after they entered. Milton was behind a small bar, dressed in a long white jacket with long sleeves to hide his hands, and baggy white pants. When they asked where Michael was he pointed up to a balcony over the bar. Leaning on the railing of the balcony was Michael, dressed in a clean set of the same clothes he had bought the day before. "So," he shouted down as he saw them, "what do you think?"

"When you told me you had plans for this place, I was under the impression that you meant plans that involved fighting Shadows." Mitsuru looked slightly annoyed. "Ah, you seem to think you were misled, when in fact you assumed correctly, and have yet to see this locations true function."

"Which is?"

"Simple, a forward outpost. A base of operations. When you told me that your school was also your home base, I decided that a new location was needed. One with facilities better suited to combat preparations. I have turned this entire building into a giant receiving antenna, which will boost the power of any support Persona used within tenfold. I also have a backroom which will prove excellent for storing any equipment. On top of this, though connections made in a past best left alone, I can procure weapons, armor, and accessories of excellent quality. I also anticipate that much in the way of gossip will travel through here. While most will be trivial, some may put us on the trail of powerful Shadows, and alert us to other strange happenings."

"Alright, you've made your point; I was too hasty in judging this place. So are you ready to go?"

"Certainly, mam."

"Good, I'm interested to see just how strong you are."

"Then I will display my prowess to the best of my ability."

"Hey, Michael, easy on the big words. I think poor Marcus' head is gonna blow." Milton laughed raucously at Matt's remark. "Good one!"

"Aren't they all?"

"Matt," Michael said, "stuff that ego in a box before I stuff you in a box."

"Alright, geez, relax."

"Yeah, relax, you're way too uptight."

"I am not uptight."

"Yes you are."

"Milton, grab the evokers. Matt, get your hammer."

"But I thought you said we could have the night off!"

"From work, not training."

"Jerk." Milton mumbled. "I heard that." Milton cursed under his breath, but Matt shrugged and went to fetch his hammer. Both returned shortly, Matt with hammer in hand, and Milton carrying their evokers and a large revolver. Michael took the revolver and his evoker from Milton, who then gave Matt his. Marcus began to wonder why Milton had no weapon, but then remembered that he fought Shadows bare-handed, his claws made short work of them. After everyone had finished checking their gear, they left for Tartarus. They arrived a few minutes early, and Mitsuru took the time to set up teams. She, Marcus, Mika and Michael would be one group. Ken, Akihiko, Junpei, and Yukari would be the next group. Matt, Milton, Aigis, and Koromaru, the dog Marcus had seen on the night Thanatos was destroyed, would make up the last group. Fuuka and Fu would remain behind in the lobby as usual. Marcus was excited, ready to blast some Shadows, but Mitsuru told him to hang back, and let Michael do most of the work, to test his limits. Marcus was o.k. with that, but he really wanted to be doing the fighting himself. They entered the tower proper, and shortly after, ran across a large group of Shadows. Michael grinned slightly, and then dove right in, unloading his revolver. He plowed through them so quickly Marcus almost felt pity for the creatures. In no time at all they were on the tenth floor. The floor was set up far different than the others. Mitsuru explained that this was a guardian floor. Guardians were select Shadows of above average power, and not to be taken lightly. Marcus grew more excited the more he heard. Mitsuru also pointed out what she called a terminal. In was like the green portals on other floors, but stayed open permanently once opened, and could be jumped to immediately form the first floor, which also had a terminal. Every guardian floor had a terminal, and that made exploration of the tower easier, because it meant that you didn't need to go through all the lower floors just to get back to where you were. Michael absorbed this information with a yawn, and rushed in to face the guardian of the floor. Compared to other Shadows Marcus had seen, this one was massive, but not larger than either the first one he killed with Thanatos, or the one the sleeping man had vaporized. It was human in shape, dressed in ancient samurai armor, and carried a long katana. Michael laughed aloud, and as he did an inky blackness began to extend from his feet, climbing swiftly up his body. At the same time his right arm began to mutate. Michael tosses his heavy coat aside, and was soon completely coated in blackness. His arm finished its change, and two blood red eyes appeared on his face. The large Shadow visibly shuddered, almost as if it was actually afraid. Then, whether in desperation or hate no one knew, the samurai-Shadow attacked with all the strength it could muster. It brought its blade down upon Michael with force enough to cleave steel. Unfortunately for the Shadow, Michael apparently was tougher than steel. He casually caught the sword in his unchanged hand, and easily hefted the Shadow off the ground. The poor creature stubbornly maintained its grip on the other end of the sword, helpless to stop the smaller, but clearly far stronger, being at the other end of the blade. From there, Michael tossed the Shadow, sword and all, high into the air, and just as easily blasted the Shadow with a volley of shots from his right arm-cannon. For a moment it rained black inside the floor on which they stood. Marcus couldn't move, he could barely breathe. Fear gripped his entire body, like a giant's hand, slowly crushing him. Only after the blackness that had coated Michael faded, and his arm returned to its normal state, that Marcus was able to quell his fear and move. Marcus reflected on the episode, and noted that the area had changed during the fight, that it had expanded; grow larger to accommodate their battle. Looking back Marcus noticed that it had always done this, and that he had simply tuned it out. His thoughts were interrupted by a scream over the radio, a scream from a voice reminiscent of Fu's. After the scream Fuuka's voice came over the radio, asking everyone to return immediately. Mika's face had turned white, her eyes wide with shock and fear. Mitsuru's eyes began to dart around, and she gripped her rapier harder. Only Michael remained calm, walking patently to the terminal back to the first floor. But he found his path barred, literally. Thick metal posts had cut them off from heading backwards. Mitsuru was as surprised as the rest of them. The only option left to them was to go forward, and look for another way down. The others were behind them, and so would most likely beat them down, but no one considered it a race. They were forced to go up five more floors before they finally found a one-way terminal back down. On arrival they saw why Fuuka had asked for their return. Takaya and a mysterious woman in black clothing stood at the base of the steps to the main entrance to Tartarus' dungeon. Around them were scattered the unconscious bodies of all of the others. Takaya turned, an almost kind smile on his face, to greet them, but as his eyes fell on Michael they widened with horror, and his jaw fell slack with surprise. "Y-y-you! N-no, i-it can't be, you can't be! How are you still alive!? I saw you die in that fire!"

"You saw a Shadow husk melt away, while I regained myself and fled there, just as you did, Takaya."

"NO! It isn't fair, how dare you live! After all the lives you took, it's only fair that you die! Why can't you just DIE!?"

"Because death is not penance, death is the coward's escape."

"Then it's perfect for you!"

"Sly tongue, but a brain that lags behind, foolish Takaya, I thought I taught you better than that."

"Taught! You taught me nothing!"

"Where are Chidori and Jin, your faithful pets?"

"In hell, were you should be!"

"A sad thing, at least in Chidori's case. She was a kind girl in the beginning, until they sunk their claws into her, and you twisted her mind."

"I? It wasn't I who twisted her mind, no that honor falls to you, my friend!"

"I did no such thing, snake! Watch your words, or I'll rip that forked tongue out of your head!"

"Takaya, I'm bored." Everyone started as the mysterious lady spoke. For the first time Marcus' attention fell on her and not Takaya. She was beautiful. She had a perfect face, skin, body, eyes, everything. But in her eyes was hate, pure, unhindered hate. "Well, feel free to entertain your self, look there are three little worms right over there behind him you can play with."

"But they look so weak, I doubt they'd be any more fun than the others, I want to fight him, because he looks tough."

"I'm sorry but we're not done talking yet…"

"I am." Michael drew his revolver as he spoke, and downed Takaya with one shot to the shoulder, apparently the shock of being shot so suddenly caused his mind to go out for a short while. The girl looked unsurprised, and even smiled at Michael, who smiled back, all the while shifting into his Shadow form. In the blink of an eye they were at each others throats, Michael in full Shadow form, the woman swinging a very long, heavy looking sword in one hand. Their movements were incredibly fast, almost too fast to read. The ladies sword swipes cut through the air with enough speed and power to whip up the dust and dirt around them, but never did they strike their target. Michael was on level footing with the strange woman, their power perfectly balanced, but Michael was playing, wearing her down, except it appeared she was doing the same. Occasionally a bolt of energy would lance out, shattering floor, ceiling, and wall all the same, where ever it struck. Eventually they broke off the fight, skidding across the floor from the force. It was hard to tell how tired Michael was, he had no face to read, but his red eyes were narrowed to slits. The strange woman looked tired, panting from exhaustion, and swearing quietly to herself. Finally she swore aloud, "Damn this pathetic body! If only I wasn't trapped in this thing, I'd have killed him already!"

"Not much you can do about that, is there Nyx?"

"You know me?"

"Longer than I knew, after all, it's your fault my mind is twisted like this, but I guess I should thank you too, without you I wouldn't have this body."

"So you are a Shadow, I thought so, but human senses are so unreliable, I just couldn't be sure." Nyx's tone had changed, as had Michael's. They were no longer enemies, but equals. Two beings trapped between humanity and existence as a Shadow. The main difference was their origin. Michael had started as a human, Nyx, from Marcus what had gleaned from conversations about her, was the mother of all Shadows. Marcus would have attacked her, if he thought it would do any good. It was her fault they were in this shit-storm. If she had just stayed away, the Shadows wouldn't have come back. Everything had gone to hell thanks to her. And Michael was acting almost friendly with her! It burned Marcus' mind to think Michael could act so clam when the cause of so much suffering was standing in front of him. "So when that guy blasted you with that big attack, you were knocked out?"

"Yes, and when I awoke, I was human. You have no idea how unnerving it is to undergo a change like that." The Shadow Michael folded it arms and gave a very sarcastic look, hard to do with just the eyes. "Oh, well I guess you do, but the rest of them don't, not even Takaya."

"Takaya doesn't have many ideas at all; thinking isn't really his strong suit."

"You don't have to tell me that! When I first met him he tried to kill me."

"Nyx, why are you chatting with the man that wants to kill all your kind, you included?" Apparently, Takaya had finally come too, because he was on his feet and talking to Nyx like a father would a small child. "You need to understand, he may be part Shadow, but he is nothing like you! Even as a Shadow you had more mercy and kindness in one iota of your being than he ever had in his entire being! He is a monster, sooner to kill than to befriend. A demon in human clothes, blight on all reality, a sin against every dimension. He is no better than a simple disease, the basest form of life."

"Ouch, Takaya. That would hurt, if I gave more that a shit about your opinion, but I don't, so it doesn't."

"Shut…"

"No, you shut up, you overinflated sack of bullshit! I get sick and tired of this holier than thou attitude of yours, you pompous prick. I swear the world would be so much nicer a place if shit heads like you were killed at birth!"

"Well you had many the opportunities to kill me back in the day, but you showed me mercy!"

"Oh hell no, not me, him. If it had been me, your ass would have been on a pike for all to see. He let you live, probably because he knew how big a pain in my ass you'd become, fucking prick that he is."

"Well tell him thanks for me!"

"Fuck you!", but Michael was talking to no one, because Takaya and Nyx were gone.


	8. Chapter 6

_Notice: The title of the story has been changed from "Fragments of the Mind" to "Fragments of the Soul" upon my friend's request. "Fragments of the Mind" will be the sequel instead._

Chapter 6: Deeper into Shadow

Thankfully no one was seriously hurt, except Michael. Takaya had reminded him of his evil, and he couldn't shake it from his mind. The return of Nyx was worse than any of them had anticipated. They had had many theories as to why Tartarus had returned, but none of them had even thought for a moment that Nyx would be back. And to make matters worse, it seemed Takaya had gotten stronger as well. All in all a bad day for all the good guys, although it did provide one glimmer of hope. The doctors that had been working on Mr. Snooze had an idea for why he had awoken. Originally his soul was acting like a barrier between humans and Shadows, but now that they were back his soul was returning to his body. Eventually his soul would fully return and he would wake up and stay awake. He would be able to resume a normal life. But that news was no where near enough to relieve the dark mood that had settled over them. With Nyx back in, and apparently able to walk about in daytime, things looked grim. On the next visit to Tartarus Marcus paid a visit to Igor. After telling Igor of Nyx's return, the old man looked incredibly tired, and began to shake his head. "I fear," he said in a weary voice, "that Nyx is only the beginning of our problems. As home of the Shadows, Tartarus is very in tune with the mysterious flows of energy that traverse the universe. Have you not felt it? A coming power, so great as to cause the tower itself to shudder? Change is inexorable, always has been, but never in all my years have I felt a change like this. What ever is coming, what ever will happen, this event will change the face of the world as you know it, perhaps even change reality itself."

"What is it though? I don't understand, according to the others Nyx is the most powerful Shadow there is, how could there be anything worse?"

"I never said that this coming force was a Shadow. I've no idea what it is, only that in terms of power, little rivals it."

"So what you're saying is we're fucked?"

"No, no, no, no. I would never say anything like that. I have seen many incredible things in my time, including Nyx's first defeat. Against all odds, against even my own predictions, that young man succeeded where so many before him had failed. If that kind of power can be found in the humblest of vessels, then who knows what kind of powers still await us, yet to be seen and accessed."

"But he was unique! He had Death itself on his side!"

"Actually, the moment Death was released from him, he was running on his own power. In the end it was just him and Nyx, although he had the substantial advantage of having all the will of all of the friends he made along his journey."

"So we just have to work together?"

"It would seem so. Although I don't know how that's going to work with him out and about."

"What do you mean? That sleeping guy should be a huge help."

"Not him, another him. I'd say his name, but he doesn't have one."

"Well then who is he?"

"I'm afraid that I can't tell you, because he will, although indirectly, be a powerful asset, to all of you."

"I don't get it." Igor laughed, and told Marcus there was nothing more to discuss. Marcus told the others what Igor had told him, about the great power that was coming. They brooded over this new turn, but could make no further assumptions with it. The most disturbing bit was this mysterious newcomer. "Well, who is he Marcus?"

"How many times do I have to say it, Mika? Igor wouldn't tell me!"

"I'll admit this idea of a new enemy in these times gives me the chills."

"I know Yukari-sensei; it's got me all creped out too."

"Good grief, look at you, jumping at shadows. I don't like this new bad guy crap anymore than the rest of you, but come on! According to what Marcus said, this guy will be more help than harm."

"Yeah, Michael's right, we should just keep our eyes out for him, but not worry so much. Worrying is bad for you."

"Thank you for that one, Mr. Obvious, but I'm with the girls, this is way to creepy."

"Milton, if you don't shut up and grow a pair, I'm going to hurt you."

"Yeah right, if your so tough why are you shaking?"

"Because you're pissing me off, that's why!"

"Guys, calm down. I don't want to have to split you up."

"Matt, butt out!"

"My, my, such scared little rats you are. I almost feel sorry for you, almost!" In unison the entire group turned, and saw Nyx and Takaya blocking the front door and stairs to the dungeon. "Takaya, I don't care what you do with the rest of them, but leave the one, Michael, to me."

"If that is your wish, so be it."

"Ah, shit!"

"Everybody get back! Leave Takaya to me and Matt!"

"Ha, quite the egos you've got. Very well, old friends, I'll be happy to crush you first!"

"You got lucky last time, but without Nyx to save your ass, you'd better start kissing it goodbye!" Milton and Matt ran headlong at Takaya and Takaya at them, firing his revolver the whole way. When they met, fist, claw, and hammer clashed against each other. Flashes of raw power and demonstrations of pure grace, all were on display, neither side holding anything back, but making no progress. In comparison the fight between Michael and Nyx was much slower, and somehow almost artistic. Michael was in full Shadow form. After his first encounter with Nyx, Michael had spent a large amount of time training. It seemed the result of that training was that he could now use his right arm as a gun, or a sword. The blade now in place of his arm was long, biting into the ground with his wider swings, but incredibly sharp, passing through the floor as easily as the air. He swung the blade with grace and ease, matching Nyx swing for swing. Occasionally she would try a low swing, trying to take his legs out from under him, but he casually hopped over the blade, slashing with pin point precision as he floated through the air. Michael clearly had the upper hand; his training had put him on a whole new plateau of power. Nyx simply couldn't keep up. So she switched tactics, from a fair fight, to dirty one, and fired off a blast of energy at Marcus and Mika, who had strayed from the group for a better view of Nyx and Michael. Michael easily intercepted the blast, but in the split second in which he was vulnerable, Nyx ran her blade through his chest. The red eyes widened in surprise, and a sharp gasp sounded. Then he slumped forward on the blade, and stopped moving. Nyx grinned, and dropped the sword, leaving it imbedded in him, propping him up. Another loud cry sounded, one of intense pain. Milton had Takaya by the wrist, and his grip appeared to be closing much further than was healthy for Takaya's wrist. Both Milton and Matt were staring fixedly at Nyx, their eyes wide with the death of their friend. Marcus couldn't move as shock and horror filled him. Mika was on her knees, crying heavily. The only sound in the large hall was Takaya cries of pain. Without warning Milton threw Takaya into a wall, and with enough force to lodge him in that wall. Matt clutched his hammer hard, much harder than was necessary. A sudden surge of raw power filled them, making their bodies almost vibrate with power. Milton changed into his Persona form, but it had changed, in place of the tentacles that had protruded from his back, massive wings now grew. His face also changed, his iris' turning red, and veins appearing on his face. Dust was blown away from him as he changed. Matt underwent no such drastic transformation; instead, he began to glow with a golden light. At the same time they drew their Evokers, and called their Personas. Milton's had changed from a small, floating, demonic octopus, into a massive dragon, which he called Midgar-Sohmer. Matt's changed from the dark, grim reaper like entity, into a magnificent man, in golden armor, holding bolts of lightning in one hand, and a massive axe in the other. The mane of white hair that haloed his head and the beard the obscured his face made his name, Zeus, all the more fitting. The whole of Tartarus shook with their combined power. Even Nyx looked almost afraid, but her attention was else where, as if she was waiting for something. Milton attacked first, using Midgar-Sohmer to fire huge gouts of flame at Nyx, which she side stepped. But he met her mid step, and slammed her, with all his might into the floor, then quickly rolled away, making the path for Matt clear. As Milton had attacked, Matt had vaulted high into the air, and was now ready to bring his hammer down from a great distance, right on her head. Nyx rolled away just in time, and Matt's hammer only hit the floor, but did so with enough force to create a crater several feet in diameter. Both of the guys quickly got to their feet, ready to fight, but were stopped cold by a familiar, yet unfamiliar laugh. It started as a low chuckle, but grew into hysterics. Nyx quickly turned, and rushed to Michael's side. As they watched, Michael was helped to his feet by her, still laughing. Then with his unchanged hand he yanked her sword from his chest, and handed it back to her. The gaping wound in his chest instantly closed, leaving no scar, no mark, and no sign that until a few moments ago he had been dead. Nyx acted entirely different around him, fussing over dirt and blood that had spattered on him. Michael stopped laughing and said something to Nyx, who stopped fussing over him. Then he turned his face to Matt and Milton, and spoke aloud. "It's nice to know you guys care so much, but honestly, you needn't worry, he's gone to much better place know."

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, shit, shit, shit!"

"Milton, language."

"Who gives a fuck man? We're all screwed; we are all royally fucking screwed!"

"No, we can beat him, we've done it before."

"Not him and Nyx, we're screwed!"

"Would you please stop saying that?!"

"I will when we aren't totally, completely, and absolutely fucking screwed!"

"Boys, boys, please. I'll tell you what, I'll have dear Nyx sit this one out, she's tired after all, and you can fight me together, what do you say?"

"Now those odds I like!"

"Yeah, and he doesn't know how powerful we are now, so we've got the element of surprise."

"Yeah, so, on three."

"One, two…"

"Three, too late boys." In a blur of motion Michael crossed the floor to them. Before either could move he punched Matt in the face, sending him sprawling on the floor, and kicked Milton in the chin, lifting him to off the ground and high into the air. Neither of them stood a chance, Michael was too fast, too strong, and completely relentless. He easily held off any attack they tried, any in turn, devastated them with barrages of unreal attacks. His attacks ranged from volleys of energy blots, to cyclones of slashing blade swipes, to flurries of punishing punches. His power was unbelievable, and unstoppable. What Matt and Milton needed was a distraction, and Marcus provided one. Whether he was thinking quickly or not at all, not even Marcus knew. All he did know was that he and Eros fired the strongest blast they could muster. The shot struck hard, dead center of Michael's back, knocking him off balance and giving Milton and Matt the chance they needed. Unfortunately, instead of remaining intent on them, Michael's attention shifted to Marcus. "Big mistake kid, really big mistake." To Marcus, Michael reached him before his words did. Michael lifted him off the ground by the front of his shirt, released him, and before he could fall, punched him hard in the gut, nearly punching straight through him. Marcus crumpled, went down on his knees, and spat up blood. Michael laughed out loud, and crouched down next to him, and spoke softly so only Marcus could hear. "You think this hurts, kid? You think nothing can hurt worse, don't ya? Well your wrong, and I'm gonna show you just how wrong you are. I'm going to take control of your body, I'm going to use you like a meat puppet, and I'm going to make you kill her. That's right kiddo, your going to kill that girl of yours, and you're going to watch as you do, but you won't be able to do anything else, you'll just have to suffer, just like poor old Mike had to when I killed all those people he cared about." Without warning Michael's hand clasped the side of Marcus' head, almost crushing it. Marcus felt his body go numb, almost as if it wasn't his anymore, and from the corner of his eye he could see the blackness that coated Michael extending to cover him as well. But unlike Michael, the blackness stopped at the top of his nose on his face, and also left his hair exposed. 'Just enough to control,' he thought, 'but also enough to make me watch what he makes me do.' Marcus tried to yell, tried to warn Mika, tried to get her to run, but his mouth was clamped shut by Michael's black coating. All Marcus could do was plead with his eyes, try to warn her with them. Matt and Milton tried to stop Michael, tried to intervene, but Nyx stepped in, holding them back. Mika was frozen with terror, unable to move. Akihiko, Mitsuru, Ken and the others were all screaming at Michael trying to stop him, but being held back by fear. And two other voices joined the chorus, Igor and Elizabeth, he bellowing at the top of his lungs in a language Marcus couldn't understand, she yelling at Mika, pulling at her arm, trying to get her away. Suddenly Marcus and Michael were engulfed in fire, whipped by winds, surrounded by ice, and nearly struck by lightning. Flashes of light and spatters of darkness drifted around them. It took Marcus a moment to realize that these were attacks, attacks launched by his friends in an attempt to save him. But all failed, as each came close, Nyx parried it away. Finally Michael was done, released Marcus' head, and stood. Marcus stood in unison, although he couldn't feel the movement, and had made no attempt to stand. He saw the movement, knew he had stood, but wasn't in control. It was like a movie, events playing out before your eyes, and you unable to do a thing. Marcus fought the control, tried to break free, but could feel nothing to fight against. A prisoner of his own body, Marcus could only watch and listen as Michael and Nyx led him away, and his body happily followed. Before they went far however, Michael punched Marcus squarely in the forehead, knocking him out. Nyx pried Takaya from the wall where Milton had left him, and with him slung on her shoulder, and Marcus on Michael's, they departed without trace. Silence caved in upon all of them, only Mika's crying was audible.


	9. Chapter 7

Prologue

Chapter 7: Matters of the Heart

Marcus was forced to stand watch over Takaya, and had been given the use of his mouth for the purposes of calling Nyx when he awoke. Marcus was almost grateful he couldn't feel his legs, because he had been standing for almost three hours, non-stop. When Takaya finally woke up, Marcus called Nyx, who entered the room looking annoyed and muttering about liking the other one better. Marcus was about to ask her who she was talking about when the black stuff that coated his body repositioned itself over his mouth again. Takaya began complaining immediately, firsts about pain, then about Marcus, and once he found out, about Michael most loudly of all. Eventually Nyx told him to shut up and dragged Marcus out of the room, without Michael's okay not even she could control him, but she did have enough power to coax the black stuff away from his mouth. "Before you say anything, I want you to know that you weren't part of the plan, and if I had my way, you wouldn't be here."

"Well that's swell, but it doesn't change much!" Marcus yelled. "Be quiet. If he finds out I'm talking to you I don't know what he'll do."

"Are you actually afraid of this guy?"

"Well, yes. I mean no, but, well, yes. If I was my old self I wouldn't be, but as I am now, he's stronger then me, so I guess I am."

"Who is he, anyway?"

"The first Shadow."

"What?"

"He is my first creation, its just taken him a while to enter your reality."

"But I thought he was just Michael's Shadow."

"I'm talking about the mind, not the body. The body was just the one he chose to settle in."

"So he isn't a part of Michael's mind?"

"No he is entirely separate, but it would have seemed that way to your friend."

"So is Michael really…?"

"No, he is still alive. With out him Dark could not be, it was a matter of allowing him to take control."

"Dark?"

"It's the name he has chosen."

"Very fitting."

"Thanks, kid."

"Dark! Wh-what are you doing here? I-I thought you were asleep."

"Sure doll, whatever, look, I don't care if you want to chat with the kid, but don't try and do stuff behind my back."

"Alright."

"Who died and put you in charge?"

"Oh look, the glee club woke up!"

"Ha, ha, very funny, you should do standup."

"Shut it, kid, the big people are talking." And with that Marcus was silent once again, jaw clamped shut. "As I said, who put you in charge?"

"Uh, me, that's who, and if you don't like it, tough."

"You, you're just another Shadow. Shouldn't Nyx be in charge?"

"No, so shut up and get in line Takaya, or I'll make you." It was now that Marcus noted that both of Dark's hands were normal, neither was a weapon. "You don't scare me!"

"We'll have to work on that."

"Takaya, please, just back down…"

"No, Nyx. I will not follow orders from this…" Takaya was cut off by Dark planting his heel in Takaya's face. Takaya stumbled back, blood pouring from his nose. He glanced up at Dark with shock and fear in his eyes. "Much better, now, Takaya as long as you do what I saw, you'll be rewarded handsomely. Do we have a deal?"

"Deal."

"Great! Now to the matter at hand, destroying this planet. Any ideas?"

"If I could…"

"No, no way am I letting you get your power back."

"First we must be rid of those stupid meddlers."

"Right! And that fits nicely with what I've promised Kiddo there. I'm gonna make him kill his little girlfriend." Nyx glanced back at Marcus, and he thought he saw sadness, remorse, guilt, but he shook those thoughts out of his mind. There was no way Nyx could feel, she was a Shadow, always would be. "My, you are by far crueler than I thought."

"You sound surprised, Takaya. He is a monster."

"Now, Nyx, if I didn't know better I'd say you were mad at me or something."

"No, nothing like that, I'm just stating the facts, and you are a monster."

"Just like you." Nyx opened her mouth to respond, but fell silent. Dark's focus was off, and Marcus managed to slip his mouth free long enough to say, "At least she has a heart."

"Shut up kid." Dark's eyes glowed with a new intensity. Whether he angry, or just thinking hard, Marcus couldn't tell. "I think we should move as soon as possible, so as to limit their time to recuperate."

"What good will that do, since you're just as beat up as they are?"

"I feel fine!"

"She has a point Takaya; you are in bad shape, which makes you useless in a fight."

"Why do you care?"

"Because I can't very well use you if you're dead, now can I?"

"Ha, ha, ha, for a moment there I actually thought you cared."

"Care? I couldn't care even if I wanted to!" Takaya seemed to understand the new order of things, and had adapted without fuss. He was quick to bend to Dark's will, and always sided with him. Nyx, on the other hand, seemed displaced, and almost uncertain, as if she regretted her actions. Marcus now looked at Nyx, not as a Shadow, but as a person, someone whose whole world had been pulled out from under them, and deep in his heart a pang of pity for her rang. She wasn't evil, Marcus could see that now, she just didn't know of any other way to live. As a Shadow she would have doubtless been forced to demonstrate her power to keep other Shadows in line. If she hadn't they would have torn her to pieces, destroyed her for their own gain. But now she was in a new world, one she didn't understand, and she was trying to live by her old rules, but she lacked the power. Now she was afraid, actually afraid, for her life. Dark was an impressive being, despite his truly twisted mind, he had power, and no inhibitions against using it to his benefit. Ambitious, powerful, power-hungry, insane, and sadistic were all words that fit Dark to a tee. He was, in a word, Evil. Utterly without remorse or pity, he would gladly destroy anything he so much as didn't like the look of. Loyalty was impossible, and trust was nonexistent in his presence. He invariably brought out the worst in a person. His words slid from his mouth like a snake slithers across the ground, and every one was calibrated, calculated to strike just the right note, to inspire his victim to do what ever he pleased. Takaya would later say, "I knew plenty of people who could talk your legs off, but only Dark could convince you to go for a walk off a cliff afterward." In the new light Marcus now saw that if anything was to be done to stop him, Nyx would be invaluable. He devised a plan in his mind, and hoped it would work fast enough to save Mika.

Mika wouldn't stop crying the night Marcus was captured and Michael was killed. Both Matt and Milton were stunned, speechless. They couldn't, or wouldn't, accept that he was dead, it wasn't possible. Ken turned his anger on himself, never allowing himself to forget how helpless he had been. Fu somehow escaped sorrow, although she told no one how until later, and did her best to help the others. All of the other adults, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei, Yukari, Aigis, Fuuka, and even the dog, Koromaru, seemed somehow empty. Akihiko kept muttering, "Not again.", and mentioning someone named Shinjiro. Eventually Ken told Fu that a man with that name gave his life to save his. "What depresses me the most about it is that I was planning to kill him myself. He accidentally killed my mother with his Persona, while he, Akihiko, and Mitsuru were chasing a Shadow. He lost control of his Persona, he couldn't stop it. But I didn't think about that back then. I only cared about revenge."

"Well I'm happy he saved you, even if he died."

"Thanks. He faced death head on, never flinching. He faced it the same way he faced Shadows, never giving in."

"Sounds to me like you admire him."

"Of course, how could I not!"

"Well, just don't get yourself killed, okay? I don't want to be in love with a dead guy!" They both laughed aloud, a truly happy laugh. The next day Ken began demanding that they redouble their training efforts. He argued that if they were ever going to get Marcus and Michael back they had to become much stronger. At first only Fu agreed with him, but a new voice joined theirs. The sleeping man, who's name was finally revealed to be Minato Arisato, fully recovered for his strange coma, and promptly sided with Ken. Matt, Milton, and Mika were slow to accept Minato's judgment, they all thought he lacked any knowledge of the situation and had no reason to want to help. Yukari and the others quickly shot down accusations, but eventually he told them the whole truth. He had been watching, and knew them all very well. In his coma he had gained a kind of omniscience, and because of it he knew everything, including the fact that Michael was very much alive. Eventually only Mika remained hopeless, but even she began to train with a new vigor. When Fu asked her why, she told her bluntly, "Minato asked me if I loved Marcus. I said yes. Then he asked me if I was sure. I said yes. Then he told me he was skeptical because in his experience, people fought for what they loved."


	10. Chapter 8

Prologue

Chapter 8: Love and Hate

A month passed with no sign of Michael, Takaya, Marcus, or Nyx. Matt and Milton had grown tense with expectation, but Minato kept his cool. They used the lull in action to build up their strength, growing steadily more powerful. Then an ultimatum came in the form of large letters written in black across the floor of Tartarus. It was a challenge, written out formally. They wanted to meet four of the group for a final show down, to the death, in one week. After much arguing it was decided that Minato, Mika, Matt, and Milton would go. Minato to fight Nyx, Mika for Marcus, Matt for Takaya, and Milton to use his now very impressive Persona form against Dark, Michael's Shadow. The four of them began training even harder, traveling into the basement of Tartarus, known as Monad, to fight creatures that put those higher in the tower to shame. They developed strategies, sometimes staying up all night to perfect them. Meanwhile Dark did little to improve himself, feeling victory was surely in his grasp. He became arrogant, and easy to fool. Marcus enacted the beginnings of his plan. It took an entire week, but finally he gained Nyx's trust. She was open to the plan, and more than happy to agree to it. She admitted to never truly liking Dark, she felt he was too powerful for his own good, a useful tool, not a being that deserved an existence of its own. She began to express a feeling she had had about Michael since they first met, one she couldn't describe. Marcus accounted it to a kind of kinship, she saw him as someone that could understand her life. Nyx and Marcus were very careful in their planning, even though Dark had become complacent, Takaya had not. He constant dogged Nyx's footsteps, a hazard that was annoying to the point of maddening, but not unlivable. A week passed, each side growing confident in their victory.

The appointed night finally came, Dark near giddy with anticipation. He kept taunting Marcus with Mika's death, never allowing him to forget what he was going to do. Marcus was helpless, unable even to speak. Nyx played her role perfectly, acting as if she had come around to Dark's way of thinking. Marcus prayed with all his heart Mika wasn't there, or that she would steer clear of him.

Matt and Milton prepared in silence. Minato took his time in selecting a weapon, he was skilled in many. In the end he chose a thin, one hand sword. Mika spent her time focusing her hate for Nyx and Dark, getting it ready to use as a weapon.

Both parties arrived right on time at the chosen location, In front of Tartarus, Fu and Ken had tagged along, Fu for support, Ken to protect her. Matt slammed his hammer into the ground, Milton bared his claws, and Minato held his Evoker tightly in is left hand, sword in his right. Mika rubbed her hands. Takaya casually fiddled with his gun. Nyx glanced momentarily from Marcus to Mika, uttering a silent prayer for their safety, before laughing at herself. A Shadow praying was completely new to her. Dark laughed aloud, taunting Matt and Milton, insulting Michael, trying to get under their skin. Marcus stood motionless, sword in hand. His body showed none of the fear his eyes were screaming. He wasn't afraid for himself, but for Mika. In a flash, the fight began. Takaya made the first move, unloading his revolver at Minato. Matt swatted the bullets out of the air with his hammer, and rushed at Takaya. Takaya ducked, narrowly avoiding a blow that would have caved in his skull. Milton lashed out, striking Dark squarely in the face. Dark laughed and sank his fist into Milton's stomach. Minato used Messiah, his Persona, to fire a volley of shots at Nyx, who fled from them, or blocked them, but never retaliated. Marcus' body fought brutally, putting all its strength into every slash and chop. Mika held nothing back; she knew holding back would only get her killed. As they fought she looked into his eyes, and saw the truth, he was helpless, a prisoner, and he was begging her to run. Matt had Takaya by the throat, holding him up in the air. Takaya squirmed and finally kicked Matt in the side of the head. Matt's grip loosened, and Takaya fell to the floor, gasping for breath. Milton and Dark were trading punches, and neither showed any signs of slowing down, until Nyx kicked Dark, hard, in the back, throwing off his balance. Dark turned on her, firing a bolt of energy from his hand right into her gut. Milton then smashed his knee with all his might into Dark's groin. Dark crumpled on the ground, winded and near crying. Mika became distracted by Nyx's betrayal, and Marcus ran his blade through her stomach. Marcus felt his eyes go wide; felt tears beginning to form in his eyes, and felt a hot surge of pure hate rise form the deaths of his heart. Only one thought occupied his mind, Mika. As he stood, stunned, the blank matter that Dark had used to control him began to peel away from his body. Everyone watched, unbelieving as Dark struggled in vain to maintain his grip, to regain control. With sickening rips and tears the blackness continued to be torn away, as if a giant invisible child were tearing into a present's wrapping. In one final effort Dark tried to crush Marcus in blackness, completely enveloping him. In an instant the black stuff was throw, blasted in every direction by an incredible force. It splattered over wall and ground, and in the center of blast stood Marcus, holding Mika in his arms, tear streaming down his cheeks. Beside him stood Eros, but Eros was covered with cracks, thin lines, and parts of his skin were falling away. In a brilliant flash of light, Eros exploded, and in his place a new Persona stood. It had the shape of a man, but stood easily three times the size, and its entire body the black of space. In a thunderous voice that shook them all to the core it said, "_I am Chaos._" Chaos moved its faceless head, turning the place a face would have been toward Marcus. It knelt by his side, and held out its hand in the direction of Mika's wound. In an instant it healed, leaving not even a scar. Then Chaos stood tall, and turned to face Dark. "_You,_" It said, "_You are the cause much pain, so I shall in turn be a source of much pain for you._" Before Dark could respond Chaos had him in one of its mammoth hands. It lightly tossed him high, high into the air, far higher than any human could survive, and jumped up after him. In midair it began to juggle him with devastating punches, while Dark drifted, helpless. Then Chaos grabbed him again and flung him to the ground, following in fast pursuit. As Dark struck the ground he was in turn crushed into it by Chaos. Chaos was about to continue the onslaught, but Marcus stopped him with a word. Milton, Matt, and Nyx were quick to detain Dark; it was neither the time or place to free Michael. Chaos faded and Mika awoke. She looked around, form the unconscious Dark, held up by Matt and Milton, to Minato, who looked quite amused, to Nyx, who had betrayed Dark and Takaya, and finally up to Marcus, tears still pouring from his eyes. "Hey.", she said. "Hey.", he said. "Well if you two love birds can pull it together…" Minato interrupted Milton, and told Mika what she had missed. Ken and Fu came rushing up, Fu worried about Mika, Ken to tell her in detail about Chaos. Minato stepped back, admiring the four youths. No one noticed Takaya until he began to laugh. "Ha, ha, ha, ha, I, I am, I am going to kill, kill you all!" It was obvious he had lost his mind. But that made him no less dangerous. He drew his gun, aiming at Marcus, who's hand shot to his Evoker, but he was beaten to the punch. Takaya shot backwards, thrown by some unseen force. Out of thin air a Persona stepped, a beautiful woman. Marcus glanced at it, and back to Mika, who had a slight smile on her face. "She's yours, isn't she?"

"Yep."

"Pretty, but not as much as you."

"Whatever. Venus, let him have it."

"I'm not kidding here!"

"I know Marcus, but death really tires you out. I just don't feel like having a gushy moment right now. Besides, you love me; I love you, what more is there to say?"

"Your Personas are a testament to that love. Chaos and Venus, two Personas of unreal power. Where did you think it came from, sunspots?" Minato spoke softly, watching as Venus continued to toss Takaya like a beanbag. "A Persona's power is born of two sources, the heart of its user, and the bond that heart forms with others. Now I'd say the bond of love you two share is quite strong, quite possibly unbreakable, and for that I am happy. That love so strong can exist is a sure sign that no matter what happens, humanity will prevail." Mika called Venus off, let Takaya fall to the ground. They all dismissed him as too weak to be a further problem. The eight of them left him, lying in the dirt, out cold. Mika and the others were suspicious of Nyx, but Marcus and Minato, to everyone's surprise, stood up for her. Nyx herself acknowledged her past actions, and apologized for them. It didn't take long for Nyx to be welcomed. Marcus thought he saw a true happiness in her eyes. He hoped he was right.


	11. Chapter 9

Prologue

Chapter 9: Recovery

Matt and Milton were eager to try and peel Dark off of Michael, but they thought Dark was the black Shadow-matter that coated him. Nyx stopped them before they did any permanent damage. She explained that the only way to free Michael now was to enter his mind, and try to destroy Dark there. Unfortunately only Nyx would be able to do so. After much arguing Matt and Milton finally accepted that it was the only viable option. Nyx began immediately, although Dark showed no signs of waking up. In moments she was in their minds. To her she was in a vast, empty plain. She shivered, where ever she was it was deathly cold, and pitch black. After a few steps she tripped on something. She picked it up and saw it was a small crystal. She pocketed it, thinking it might be useful. As she walked she began to see a light, she ran for it, thinking it might be Dark. What she came upon was a door. She opened it, and saw a large white room with white furniture. A small boy sat in the middle, wearing white clothes and playing with white toys. His small hand moved quickly sorting differently shaped blocks. Nyx entered and shut the door behind her, catching the boy's attention. His head whipped around to look at her. It was then she realized who the boy was. Michael stood up unsteadily, stumbling like any toddler would. He walk up to her, tugged on her skirt and said, "You're here to see him, aren't you lady?"

"Who? Who do you mean?"

"Him, me when I grow up or at least that's who he says he is, but I don't believe him. He's a crybaby, and I'm no crybaby. All he ever does is cry when he's here."

"Then yes, I am here to see him, can you tell me where he is?"

"I can do better than that! I can take you to him!" The small boy jumped with excitement, and led the way. Only a short way and he opened another door. On the other side was Michael, curled up in a big chair, tears rolling down his cheeks. "Hey, I know you!" He hollered as Nyx came in the room. "You're Nyx!"

"Nyx!" The little boy screamed and ran to his older self's side. "You're the one who killed us!"

"Yes but…"

"No buts," Michael said, "It's your fault we're here, and it's your fault we're like this!"

"But I'm here to help!"

"No your not!"

"Yes she is." Out of another doorway stepped a third Michael. This Michael was the correct age, and wore the same white clothes as the other two, but was very stiff and spoke without emotion. "I see you've met Youth and Sadness. I am Knowledge; we are all parts of Michael's mind, his psyche."

"So he isn't here?"

"Well, yes and no. We are him, after all, but we are broken, disjointed. If only Youth hadn't lost the gem we would be able to reform, but that black thing attacked him and being a child he acted like one."

"You mean this?" Nyx pulled the crystal she had found from her pocket. Knowledge's eyes went wide at the sight of it. "Good heavens. With this we can return to normal, but we need all the parts, even Hate."

"How long will it take?"

"No too long, of course with your help it could be expedited."

"Whatever you need!"

"Excellent, take Youth with you and find Courage and Love. Sadness and I will find the rest. Return when you have them, and then we shall all go for Hate."

"Why is Hate last?"

"Because he has joined up with that thing."

"Oh." Nyx had to rely on Youth to lead her. The rooms acted like a giant maze, and to make matters worse the doors shut behind them. Luckily Youth knew the way. They came across Love first. The entire room he was in was a bright, burning pink, and so were his clothes. Love pranced merrily round the room, pausing momentarily at pictures of past loves on the walls. Nyx began to feel ill. Youth explained to Love what was happening, and introduced Nyx, who's hand he kissed. Nyx was very flattered, but pushed it aside, there was work to do. With Love they were able to find Courage without delay. Courage was in white, but stood slightly taller, and was slightly more muscular than Michael. He was hacking away with a sword at a dummy of a Shadow. He greeted his other selves with hearty laughter, and showed Nyx a great deal of courtesy. With Love and Courage found all four retuned to the room where she had met Sadness and Knowledge. They had already arrived by the time Nyx got back. Knowledge introduced his counterparts, Wisdom, an old Michael, Fear, twitchy and all ways looking over his shoulder, Ignorance, a very stupid man, and Happiness, smiling serenely. That left Hate. Knowledge led the way, Ignorance complaining all the while that he knew the way, though he clearly did not. Knowledge led them deep into the strange rooms, until finally they entered one that was blood red. In the center, sitting comfortably in a black armchair, was Dark. He looked slightly different from his outside self. In here he looked more distinctly like Michael, except for being completely black. Dark stood casually, smiling broadly. At his side another Michael crouched. At first Nyx thought he was just short, but then she saw he was actually doubled over in pain. "Nyx, so good to see you, although I'm still quite mad at your for betraying me like that."

"Who are you to talk of loyalty?"

"Good point. Hate, go get them." The crouched Michael lunged for her throat, but was caught by a punch from Courage. "My, my, all of you have come to see me, how nice."

"We're not here to visit Dark." All of them spoke in unison, but with a single voice, even Hate joined in. "Why are you with them, Hate? I thought you liked hurting things."

"I do, but not things that don't deserve it, like those kids!" The crouched man stood tall, his pain relieved. "It just took some time for me to realize that."

"Looks like I'll just have to destroy all of you, shouldn't take more then a minute."

"Your wrong," they said, in unison again, "it's you who is about to be destroyed." In the blink of an eye the ten Michaels were gone, and in their place stood just one. Michael grinned from ear to ear, and looked at Nyx kindly. Then he turned his eyes to Dark, and said, "You are so screwed."

"Welcome back, Mike! How've you been?!"

"Shut it, Shadow boy. Lets skip the pleasantries and get down to the ass whooping."

"As you wish." Dark lunged for Nyx, trying to use her as a shield. Michael kicked up hard, just as Dark's head passed over his foot. Dark gagged, but grabbed onto Michael's leg, and used it to slam him into the wall. Michael, using the wall for support, lifted his leg high, with Dark still clinging on. Dark dropped from his leg, and Michael brought it down hard on the back of his head. Dark took the blow, and lashed out for Michael's throat. Michael caught Dark's hand and twisted it as far as it could go, and farther. Dark clawed with his other hand at Michael's leg, still barring down on his head. Michael shifted the leg off Dark's head, and then brought it against his side in a powerful kick. Dark used his free hand to punch at Michael's face. Using his grip on Dark's wrist Michael brought Dark in close, and rammed their skulls together, Nyx cringing at the sound. Dark stumbled, and Michael kept going, trying to smash Dark's face with his fists. Dark was quick, able to dodge most of the punches, but a few hit, and form the sound Dark made when they did, Nyx figured that they must have hurt a lot. Dark began moving backward, trying to get away from Michael, but Michael was dogged, determined to pummel Dark into oblivion. Dark finally ended up where he wanted, right in front of Nyx. He spun on the spot, and grabbed her, pulling her in close. He put one hand around her throat and with the other pointed at Michael. "Stay back! Stay back or she Dies!"

"Bullshit, you don't have the guts to kill her."

"Just watch me!" Dark began to squeeze Nyx's neck, and she started choking. "Alright, alright, back off, I'm getting back!"

"Good." Dark said, although his hand didn't loosen. "I never figured you'd fall for Nyx, Mike. Yeah, she's nice to look at and all, but she is your sworn enemy, right? I guess what they say is true, birds of a feather flock together, and you two are, well, two of a kind, a human turned Shadow, and a Shadow turned human. It's no wonder you're head over heals for each other!" Michael glanced at Nyx, who turned red in the face. Michael growled under his breath. Dark grinned. "What's the matter, Mike? Can't put the woman you love out of your mind?"

"Shut up."

"This is why humans are so weak! You're ruled by your pathetic emotions! Love, bah, completely useless, a waste of valuable brain space!"

"Shut up."

"Now you, Michael; I can understand why emotions affect you, but Nyx! Honestly, woman, are you that weak, have you fallen that far?!"

"Shut up."

"If I didn't know better Nyx, I'd say you wanted to be human, am I right? After all, you exterminated them so many times, why not be one for once? You are pathetic, falling in love."

"I said," Michael shouted, "SHUT UP!" Dark opened his mouth to speak again, but no sound came out. He tried again and again to speak, but remained silent. Dark's eyes became filled with fear and horror. Michael simply stared at him with his cold gray eyes. Nyx had never seen his human eyes this close. Dark closed his hand tighter around her throat, but in an instant it flew away, ripped cleanly off by Michael. A fist flew past her ear, crushing Dark's bones as it struck. Michael grabbed Nyx, pulled her free of Dark's grasp, and pushed her gently aside. Then he punched Dark through the wall behind him, and the entire room around them shattered. They were left in a white field. Michael turned to Nyx, and put his hands on her shoulders. He silently thanked her. Out of nowhere Dark, now transformed into a monster twice his normal size, attacked. Michael crushed Dark's face with his right hand without even turning around, and still facing her, kicked backward, sending the beast sprawling. Finally he turned and looked at Dark in pity. He lifted his right arm, which in an instant became a white version of the gun arm his Shadow form possessed. He fired one shot, and in a flash of light, Dark was gone. "Is he dead?" she asked. "No, only locked away, but he will never bother anyone again."

"Good."

"He had a point, why do you seem to have emotions? You are a Shadow."

"So are you."

"But I'm part human."

"So am I."

"So he was right on two counts, we are two of a kind."

"Yes."

"So, was he right about you falling for me too?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?"

"We'll see if I fall for you."

"I hope so, because he was right about me liking you."

"You…"

"Like you, nothing more, for now."


	12. Chapter 10

Prologue

Chapter 10: Prophecy

Michael and Nyx slept for a day straight after Dark was forced into the back of Michael's mind. Nyx woke up first, and was immediately crushed in a bear hug from Matt. Milton begrudgingly thanked her, and Marcus treated her warmly, like an old friend. Mika stood silently in the corner. Marcus finally dragged her over, trying to get her to talk to Nyx. Mika stood closer, but refused to speak. Marcus kept trying to get her to talk, and Matt and Milton quickly left the room. Marcus started getting angry, telling Mika how rude he thought she was being. Mika shouted back, calling Marcus an idiot. Marcus got ever angrier, and began to insult Mika. She slapped him across the face, and stormed out of the room, slamming the door into Michael, who had been one the other side of the door. Mika and Marcus froze, and Nyx giggled quietly. One of Michael's hands curled around the edge of the door, and slowly pulled it open. Marcus could feel his knees shaking. The look on Michael's face said what he thought, not amused. Michael pulled two chairs over to one corner of the room, facing each other, and sat Marcus and Mika in them. "Talk it out." He said it in a quiet tone that added a silent 'or else'. Then he turned to Nyx, and pulled up a chair next to her bed. He spoke quietly, but animatedly. He felt Marcus and Mika's stares on him and glanced in their direction. As if on queue Marcus and Mika started talking. "What's up with you, acting all weird like that?"

"ME! I'm not the one being friendly with a Shadow!"

"Hey, she's okay, she helped us out, remember?"

"Yeah, and that's why I haven't killed her yet!"

"What's wrong with you?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Nyx was being helped to her feet by Michael, but her eyes were locked on them. "She thinks you have fallen for me."

"What?!" Marcus and Michael said in unison. "Am I right, Mika?"

"Well, um, yes, you are." Michael started to laugh aloud. "What's so funny?!"

"Oh, nothing."

"No, you think something's funny, now what is it?"

"Just that you two are so clueless. You couldn't find your feelings with two hands and a flashlight. To any outsider it is obvious that you two are in love, but I guess it's a different view from in there. Fact is he's nuts about you, and there's no way he'd cheat on or dump you, you're just going to have to get that into your head."

"It's not that…"

"What? Simple, is that what you were going to say?"

"Yes."

"Well it is."

"Michael, leave them alone." Nyx was looking intently at Michael's face, primarily his eyes. Marcus couldn't be sure, but he thought he saw a flash of envy in them, and he wondered if Nyx saw it too. There was a tense moment. Then the tension vanished, as all four of them laughed.

Takaya could feel that blood was gushing from his wounds, but he didn't care. He only wanted revenge. He wanted revenge against all of them, those stupid fools who had been in his way from the beginning. It wasn't fair; he thought to himself, that he was the eternal loser. Every time he came close, so close to his hopes and dreams they would be there to tear him away, and destroy him. Takaya stumbled into a back alley, leaving a river of blood in his wake. He cursed the weakness of his human body. He leaned against a wall, sliding down it to the ground. "Hello, Takaya." Takaya's head spun on his shoulders, to look at the man who was standing over him. It was Michael. The sun was high in the sky, but Michael stood to block it from shining in Takaya's eyes. Takaya would have screamed in hatred, if only he had had the strength. All he could do was mumble, "What do you want?"

"Nothing, Takaya."

"Good, because I've nothing else to give. You've already take everything from me, my hopes, my dreams, Nyx, Dark, and now you get to be here as I die. Congratulations, you've done it, you've finished off Strega."

"It doesn't have to go this way, we can help you."

"Ha, don't even offer. Even if Nyx herself offered to help me now, it's too late. I will die in this back alley, covered in dirt and blood."

"No you will not." Both Michael and Takaya turned to look at the newcomer. He stood a few inched shorter than Michael, but was much more muscular looking. His skin was pale white, and his clothes were black as space. The man walked forward to stand over Takaya, opposite of Michael. Takaya looked back at Michael, who didn't move a muscle. For several seconds no one moved or said a word. The silence was broken by Nyx, who came around a corner looking for Michael. Like Michael she froze at the sight of the pale man. Takaya looked at her, surprised to see her in a bright pink dress with a wide brimmed hat covered in flowers. Takaya was stunned by how beautiful she looked. Nyx looked to Michael, and Takaya saw in her eyes a glint of trust, perhaps even love. Takaya mentally shook himself, she couldn't be in love with Michael, it was impossible. "And who are you?" Michael asked the pale man through gritted teeth. "I am a messenger."

"I meant your name."

"I am…End."

"Okay, End, what do you want?"

"I am here for him; he has a purpose to fulfill."

"Well that isn't going to work for me, so beat it."

"You have a purpose as well, Michael."

"How did you know my name, Shadow?"

"So, you can tell I am not human?"

"Of course."

"Shame, I hope other humans aren't as perceptive as you. By the way, I am not a Shadow."

"Then what are you?"

"I think he's a Persona, Michael."

"A Persona without a user, that's impossible Nyx."

"You're both wrong, and right. I am a Persona, and a Shadow. I am one of their creations."

"Who are they?"

"You will know in due time. As for now, I will be taking Takaya, whether you let me or not."

"I'd be glad to see you try."

"Then be glad." In the blink of an eye, Takaya and End were gone, but End did make a final comment as they departed. "An interesting choice, Nyx."


	13. Chapter 11

Prologue

Chapter 11: Heart of a Shadow

Marcus groaned a Michael continued to humiliate him at chess. He had already lost half his pieces, and Michael had only lost one pawn. Milton, Matt, Mika, and Nyx sat around watching as Michael continued to lure Marcus into traps, slowly decimating Marcus's hopes of winning. Marcus couldn't even remember why he had agreed to play chess in the first place. In a few turns Michael had completely taken out anything Marcus put together. It was scary, almost as if he could read Marcus's mind. Finally Michael ended the game. Milton whistled with his astonishment, and Matt patted Marcus on the back, while Mika kissed him on the cheek. Michael stayed seated, his eyes darting all over the board. Nyx put her hand on his shoulder and he immediately snapped back to reality. Nyx had been staying with Michael, Milton, and Matt at the Sable for the past week. The running joke in Marcus' class was which one of the three she would fall for. Ken bet on Milton, although he never said why. Mika was sure it would be Matt, because, she said, he was a prince charming. Marcus didn't bother telling them how wrong he thought they were. Fu, when asked, only said, "No comment." Marcus believed that Nyx might not fall for any of them, but if she did, he hoped it would be Michael. When Mika found out about it she relentlessly pestered him, until he told her why. He explained that Michael and Nyx were very much alike. They were both on the borderline of Shadow/Human existence. He also thought that Nyx might already be attracted to him, judging from how she acted around him. Over the past week Marcus and Michael had become like brothers. Now that Marcus understood what it was like to be a Shadow, even partly, he understood Michael much better. Michael taught Marcus a great many things, most of them related to fighting Shadows. The entire group had continued to train, and with the addition of Nyx into their ranks, they were scaling Tartarus at record speed. Michael's Shadow form had changed, now instead of black, it was white, and the eyes were blue. When Nyx and Michael worked together they totaled any Shadow to get in their way. While Marcus had become friends with Michael, Mika had befriended Nyx. While the guys spent their time playing games at the arcade across from Sable in the mall, the girls would lock them selves in a room and talk for hours on end. It was during these gossip sessions that Mika learned that Nyx actually was interested in Michael. When she asked Marcus if Michael liked Nyx, Marcus told her, "We're guys. A guy doesn't ask about stuff like that. If he wants to talk about it, he'll bring it up. He hasn't brought it up."

"Then you bring it up!"

"No, guys don't do that. His personal life is none of our business. If he wants our help, he'll ask." Mika glared at Marcus. "Yeah, you're right, he won't. But what can I do?" As if to answer his question, Matt and Milton dropped in, literally. They had been hiding behind some boxes eavesdropping, and they had tripped and fallen. Matt explained that they had to set Nyx and Michael up on a date. Milton nodded rapidly, and added that it had to be romantic. Matt agreed. Marcus tried desperately to get out of being involved, but Mika had him trapped. Mika decided that they should set it up them selves, leaving nothing to Nyx or Michael. Marcus emphasized his belief that this was a bad idea, and then silently did as directed. The final plan involved getting Michael and Nyx out of Sable so that Matt and Milton could set up all the fancy trimmings, and then bringing them back for a romantic dinner. In order to get them out, Mika and Marcus worked together to find a movie with just enough romance to keep Nyx content and plenty of violence to keep Michael entertained. Marcus would go with Michael, and Mika with Nyx, and they would pretend the coincidence was accidental. The movie went off without a hitch, although a particularly loud man in the theater made it hard to hear the movie. After the movie Marcus received a call from Matt on his cell phone, asking for more time. Marcus told Mika, who quickly steered them away from Sable and toward a couple of stores. After spending half an hour wandering through shops, Marcus finally got a call from Milton telling them that everything was ready. Marcus gave Mika the thumbs up, and she hurried them off, back to Sable. When they opened the doors Nyx started laughing, and Michael began to crush Marcus' shoulder in his vice-like grip. Matt was dressed as a waiter and Milton in the DJ booth playing some soft romantic music. Michael glanced at Nyx, and when he saw how happy she looked he released Marcus' shoulder. Marcus took a deep breath and rubbed his arm. Mika pushed Michael and Nyx into their seats, and then dragged Marcus out of the club as she left. According to Matt, the diner went alright, even with Michael trying to kill himself, Matt, and Milton. Milton told them that Nyx and Michael were planning another date, this time going out to real restaurant. Michael warned both of them to stay away, unless they had a death wish. Marcus wanted to do as her was told, but Mika dragged him along anyway. Michael looked very suave in the black tuxedo he wore, and Nyx had found a black dress that made her look stunning. The diner was uneventful, and eventually Marcus convinced Mika to go home. The next morning Nyx and Michael were much cuddlier with each other and Milton claimed that Nyx had spent the night in Michael's room. Marcus refused to be involved any further, and Mika felt her job was done.

Mika continued to pester Milton for more details about Michael and Nyx's budding relationship. She would have pestered Matt too, but he had joined Marcus in refusing to be involved. Ken and Fu couldn't help but be amused as Marcus desperately tried to convince Mika that it wasn't her business. It didn't take long for Yukari to get wind of what Mika was up to and join her enthusiastically. Marcus finally gave up, and soon after, noticed a change in Junpei's behavior. Junpei was normally a very up beat, energetic man, but recently he had become sluggish and gaunt. When Marcus asked about this, Junpei replied by saying, "Chidori." Marcus then turned to Akihiko, who explained that Chidori was a girl that Junpei had fallen in love with back during the time when they were trying to stop Nyx from emerging. At first she had been an enemy, allied with Takaya, but after they had captured her, she and Junpei grew close. Unfortunately she gave her life to save Junpei's after he was fatally shot by Takaya. It was after she died that Junpei's original Persona, Hermes, awoke to its full power and became Trismegistus. When Marcus asked him why her death should bother Junpei now, Akihiko couldn't figure it out any better than Marcus. Akihiko, worried for his friend, tried to bring the subject up with him, but was brushed off. Akihiko then turned to Mitsuru, who called everyone together to confront Junpei about it. Even with all of the others present, Junpei refused to speak about her. Finally Michael punched him squarely in the jaw. Junpei's head snapped sharply to one side, and Michael explained why he hit him in an angry voice. "You need to pull your head out of your ass and realize that you have a small army of friends all willing to help you."

"It's none of their business."

"Bull shit, they are your friends, we are your friends, and we aren't going to leave this alone until you let us help you."

"Fine, fine…It all started with a dream. I thought it was nothing at first, old memories, but Chidori, she came to me in my dreams, begging for help. She said she had found a way back, but she was trapped. I asked her where, and all she said was Monad." Minato grunted at the last word. He shifted his arms, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Monad," he explained, "is Tartarus' basement. I used to train there once I became too strong to train effectively on the higher floors. I'm not entirely sure how far it goes, I've only ever gone a few floors down. The Shadows down there are tough; some of them are almost unreal." Michael grinned widely as Minato spoke. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well, I…"

"Rhetorical question, point is, if that's where she is, then that's where we have to go right?"

"Yes, but…"

"After all, from the sound of it, you really like her don't you, Junpei?"

"More then anything."

"Good, first thing tonight, into Monad we go!" Marcus was surprised by Michael uncharacteristic concern, but Matt explained to him that Michael didn't really care about Junpei and Chidori; he was just interested in a greater challenge. Marcus understood the sentiment, and wanted to go along, but was denied. Mitsuru decided that only Michael, Minato, Nyx, and Junpei would go. Koromaru, the dog that was always present at the meetings, barked, and Aigis translated that he wanted to go as well. Mitsuru was about to say no when Minato interrupted her and okayed it. Mitsuru didn't even try to argue with him. Akihiko explained, as he escorted Ken and Marcus home to ensure they didn't go anyway, that Minato was the actual leader of the group. Mitsuru had taken the position in his absence and now that he was back, she was acting as a second in command. Ken told Marcus that the reason Minato was the leader was because of his unparalleled tactical skill. Marcus had his doubts, but he couldn't deny that Minato was clearly an intelligent man.

Michael learned early into the excursion that Minato had not exaggerated the power of the Shadows present in Monad. Even in his powerful Shadow form, he had a hard time with these impressive opponents. The upshot of the intense difficulty was that he grew exponentially stronger with each fight. Nyx was having the same difficulties as he did, but he made sure to keep her safe, he owed her, after all. Minato, while much more adept at fighting the stronger foes, was much more cautious and conservative with his movements. Junpei and Koromaru were all but overwhelmed. The five of them moved quickly down the floors, avoiding fights whenever possible. After what seemed like an eternity they reached the tenth floor down of Monad. Here their way was barred by two obstacles, one considerably greater than the other. The lesser was a massive door, the greater was Takaya, fully healed and possessed of newfound power. He stood triumphantly in their path. "Hello Nyx, how have you been?"

"Fine."

"Excellent, then I don't feel bad about this." Takaya drew his gun and shot Nyx, who fell to the floor. In a flash Michael was on him, already in his new white Shadow form. Takaya greeted the white fist that hurtled toward him with a black one. To Michael's horror, Takaya transformed into a black Shadow form, identical to Michael's former one, with the exception of a few spikes protruding from its shoulders. What followed was a fist fight so fast that even Minato's highly trained eyes couldn't follow it, although he didn't waste time trying. All of his attention was on Nyx. Luckily the wound was minor, but the pain was new to her, so he did his best to heal and calm her. Michael was unaware that Nyx was alright, and so unleashed his full power, awakening him Persona's true form. In the blink of an eye, Havoc appeared, vanished, and was replaced by a new entity. The figure was humanoid, but in place of fingers, long blades extended, and large steel wings flared open behind it. Michael knew in his mind his new Persona's name, Hades. With the new surge of power, Michael crushed Takaya against a wall, and then flung him toward the portal back to the fist floor, shouting at him to flee if he valued his life. Michael bolted to Nyx's side, glad that she was alright. He tried to dismiss Hades, but it was transfixed by the mammoth door. Koromaru howled, and his Persona, Cerberus appeared at Hades' side. Hades gestured to Junpei, beckoning him forward. Junpei obeyed. A disembodied voice shook the room as it said, "She waits on the far side of this door, would you give your life for hers?"

"In a heart beat."

"Then there is but one thing to do. Come Cerberus, and let us open the door for two souls destined for each others company in life and forever after." Hades placed one of his palms on the door, and Cerberus nosed up to the other side. The door cracked open, just enough for a person to walk through. A woman stepped through, and Hades and Cerberus slammed it shut behind her. Junpei stood frozen, transfixed be the woman, and she was transfixed by him. Then they ran to each other. Michael noted how pale she was, just as she had been when she was young. He remembered Chidori from his days as a test subject. On rare occasions Michael, Matt, and Milton were allowed to mingle with the children in Strega. Only Chidori was nice to them. She had become their friend, even though they rarely got to see her. It was that friendship that had saved her life. He had come close to killing her many times when Dark had been in control of his body as a child, but Michael had always been able to stop him. He had felt true sorrow at the news of Chidori's death. As a child she had been sweet, and it was her presence in Strega that had convinced Michael that God didn't care. For a time he had outright denied God's existence, but he came to accept that there was a God, he just didn't give a shit. Matt still could believe Michael thought that way. Chidori and Junpei walked hand in hand back to the rest of them, and Junpei tried to introduce her to Michael, and vice-versa, but she stopped him. "I know him, Junpei; he was one of the children in the experiments."

"He knows, I told them about all that, although I might have left the part about us being friends out."

"Figures, you left a lot of things out whenever you spoke to anyone."

"He still does." Nyx stood up, Michael quickly moving to support her. "There are plenty of things he thinks I don't know, but do."

"Great, now I've got to worry." Chidori laughed, and Junpei joined her. Michael felt happy for her, she had had a rough life, and she deserved happiness. Minato interrupted, pointing out that the Dark Hour was nearing its end. Michael saw that Nyx was too tired to walk on her own, so he picked her up and carried her all the way home.


	14. Chapter 12

Prologue

Chapter 12: Rivals

Marcus noted an immediate improvement in Junpei's attitude the next day. He also noted that his class size had doubled. He asked why, and one of the new kids answered, interrupting Yukari. He told Marcus that their classes had been combined to improve efficiency in learning, and because they were the only two classes that had awakened to their Persona powers. Marcus immediately felt an intense dislike of this new guy. There were four in the new group, the guy who had interrupted one, two other guys, and one girl. One of the other guys looked like a nerd; the other looked like a muscle head. The girl looked normal, but acted kind of snobby. Yukari introduced the new students. The loud mouth was called Jacob Shinseki. The girl was named Amane Kanzaki. The nerd and the muscle head were called Shunsui Kazudo and Karaki Abarame respectively. Marcus instinctively did not like them, and Ken, Fu, and Mika were in agreement. After class finished Yukari told all eight of them to report to the gym for a new class. Marcus thought it was going to be some kind of testing by Junpei, but when they arrived, they saw no one. Jacob started badmouthing Junpei as a teacher, but was interrupted as a man shaped white thing landed right in front of him, bringing the blade that was its right arm within inches of his face. Amane screamed deafeningly and Shunsui fainted. Jacob collapsed to the floor and Karaki made a mad dash for the door, but found it locked. Marcus, Mika, Ken and Fu, on the other hand, drew their Evokers in unison and attacked with their Personas. Marcus was impressed that Fu's could attack. The white figure jumped gracefully out of the path of the attack, taking Jacob with him. He landed next to Nyx, who was holding back hysterical laughter. Marcus groaned, knowing that Michael had played him, but couldn't hold a grudge. He glanced at Jacob, whose pants were soaking wet. Michael put the boy on his feet. Jacob could only mumble, "I need new pants."

"Yes you do, pee boy. Nyx, could you get Junpei to fetch him a pair?"

"Sure. As long as I don't have to change him too."

"Oh, I think he's big enough to do that on his own." Michael let go of Jacob, who stumbled back to the other three. Amane was still freaking out, but Karaki had woken Shunsui up. Junpei turned up a little while later with a fresh pair of pants and an evil grin. Jacob had regained his composure, and was acting like he was in control, like he had wet himself on purpose. After Jacob had changed Michael introduced himself to the four newcomers. Shunsui immediately began to ask countless questions of Michael. Michael finally shut him up by kicking him in the chest. "This isn't Q&A kids, this is combat training."

"But we already know how to fight, you know that." Marcus shuddered at the thought of learning with Jacob and his group. "Yes, you do know how to fight, which gives you a leg up on these four, but do you know how to fight with a strategy?"

"Yes, go in, kick butt. That's a strategy."

"One that will get you killed if you stick to it. The point of this training is to teach you how to use your abilities to hit your opponents' weak spots. For example, Ken's Persona, Kala-Nemi, is adept with lightning based attacks, so if he were to hit a Shadow with a weakness to lightning, he would strike for a greater amount of damage. At the same time, the Shadow would be stunned, giving him the opportunity to attack again. This is how you win. This is also why you need to keep in contact with you support Persona user. With out them, you'll be shooting blind, you might hit a weak spot, or you might hit the Shadow with something to its advantage. Some of the more powerful Shadows can absorb certain attacks and heal themselves with it, not a good turn of events for you. There are even Shadows that can be healed by being shot, slashed, or smashed. The point is you have to use weaknesses to your advantage, while avoiding the Shadows strengths."

"This is making my head hurt." Marcus glanced at Karaki, who was holding his head. "Hurt or not, these lessons are going to keep you alive, so pay attention. Now, I want all of you to fight me, so you understand how to use your powers to your advantage." Fu automatically summoned her Persona, which had grown and become Rhea. She would hang back as support, to feel out Michael's weaknesses. Shunsui joined her, summoning his Persona, Coeus. Coeus had the form of a giant man holding an equally huge book. Jacob, Amane, and Karaki joined Marcus, Mika, and Ken on the front line to fight. Michael instructed Fu to try and determine his weakness. Fu was surprised when she discovered he had none. Shunsui laughed at her, saying she was too weak to find it out, and tried his luck. He failed miserably. Michael explained that Fu had been correct, he didn't have a weakness, but he didn't have any resistances either. He told them that he had developed the ability in his Shadow form to determine his strengths, but weaknesses would develop in other places when he did. Michael told Fu to try again, and this time she found that he now had a weakness to fire, but strength to ice. He told her to check a third time, she discovered that his fire and ice shift was gone, but that he know had a significant increase in his blade aptitude, but an equal weakness to firearms and other piercing weapons. He shifted his strength yet again, but this time told Fu and Shunsui not to scan for his weaknesses. He then told Marcus to attack with anything he could. With Chaos he fired off a spear of ice, which shattered harmlessly against Michael. Jacob laughed at Marcus, and used his Persona, Epimetheus, to engulf Michael in flame. The flames died and Michael stood untouched. Ken then attacked with a lance of lightning, which did nothing. Amane then attacked Michael with a gale of wind from her Persona, Pandora. Mika, after Amane was done, ran up and punched Michael across the face, and he staggered. Michael chuckled quietly and allowed Fu and Shunsui to scan him. They came to the same conclusion; he had gained immunity to elemental attacks, in exchange for weakness to all physical attacks. Nyx stepped forward, explaining that the eight of them would now have a practice battle with her and Michael as the opposition. Michael told them that it would be up to the six fighting to tell Fu and Shunsui to do any scanning, and when. It was also up to them who would act as the leader, deciding what tactics to use. Jacob began to argue fiercely with Marcus, he wanted to lead, but Marcus wanted Ken to lead because of Ken's experience. Finally it was put to a vote and Ken won by one, Shunsui voted for him. Ken first order was to surround Michael and Nyx. They did so, picking up practice weapons along the way. Marcus took a long sword, Mika took a pair of boxing gloves, Ken took a staff, Amane took a one handed sword, and Jacob took two, one in each hand. Ken then told Fu and Shunsui to scan Michael and Nyx. Marcus decided not to waste time and attacked Michael head on. Michael easily deflected the attack, and punted Marcus back across the gym. Jacob laughed cruelly, and attacked in exactly the same way, and was punted back in the same way. Marcus suppressed a laugh. Mika then attacked Nyx head on in the same way, but was intercepted by Michael. Amane tried to blow Nyx away with a gust of wind, but it did nothing. Finally Fu and Shunsui reported that Michael was immune to physical attacks, and Nyx was immune to elemental attacks. Ken then ordered Jacob, Marcus, and Karaki to attack Nyx with normal attacks, and Mika and Amane to attack Michael with him, using elemental attacks. Marcus and Jacob rushed at Nyx, but were beaten there by a massive man. Marcus looked back and saw that Karaki had his Evoker to his head. The massive man was actually Karaki's persona, Atlas. The three of them attacked Nyx while Michael was preoccupied with the attacks Ken, Mika, and Amane were throwing at him. Before any real harm could be done, however, Michael called for the fight to stop. Marcus and Karaki stopped, as did Ken, Amane, and Mika, but Jacob did not. He rushed at Nyx, and was inches away from dealing a powerful blow, when Michael stepped in his path. Michael took the hit without flinching, and the nearly crushed Jacob's face in with a devastating punch. Blood poured from Jacob's nose, Marcus thought it was almost certainly broken. Michael didn't even stop to see if Jacob was okay, he immediately turned his attention to Nyx, who looked winded despite the fact that it was only a practice fight. Amane ran to Jacob, who had landed a few feet from her. Karaki and Shunsui stayed where they were for a moment, and then drifted toward Ken, Marcus, Mika, and Fu, who were standing between the two pairs. Marcus complimented Karaki's Persona out of the corner of his mouth, and Karaki returned the compliment. Shunsui started asking Ken about his experience with Shadows, and Ken gladly told him all he knew. Michael helped Nyx gently to her feet, and offered to carry her to the school's infirmary, but she told him she could walk. A few minutes after they left, Marcus walked up and offered his hand to Jacob. Jacob batted it away, swearing, and shouted at Karaki to pick him up and carry him to the infirmary. Karaki did as told, and the group of four left, leaving Ken, Marcus, Fu, and Mika alone in the gym. Marcus felt hot anger boiling up from his chest. He looked at Mika, trying to convey his hate of Jacob without yelling. He saw that she was shaking, and immediately his hate dissipated and was replaced with concern for her. He moved to her side, and spoke quietly to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure, you're shaking like a leaf."

"I'm fine, just really pissed off at that jerk."

"You too?"

"Of course, how could I not be? First he flirts with me in the hall, and when I turn him down he calls me a whore, and then he disrespects you when you try to be nice to him. He's a fucking prick." Marcus felt his hate return in full force, but for different reasons. Marcus wanted to rip Jacob's head off. "That son of a BITCH!"

"What?"

"I'm going to kill him! No one calls my girlfriend names and lives to tell the tale!"

"Marcus don't, he's not worth the trouble."

"She's right, man. That little moron isn't worth the effort to kick his ass. Besides, as pissed off as Michael looked, he'll probably kill Jacob himself."

"No way, Ken, Michael is way to calm to do that."

"I don't know, Fu. Michael looked like he was going to kill something. He was pissed that Jacob didn't stop."

"I don't think it was that Jacob didn't stop that made him angry, I think it was that he was going for Nyx." Marcus looked at Fu, who normally kept out other people's relationships. "I can't be sure, but what I do know for sure is that I detected three life signs when we were fighting Michael and Nyx."

"So? It was probably one of us."

"No, I've gotten very good at blocking out allies signals; I had to if I was going to be of any use in Tartarus. I was focused on those two specifically, and I sensed three beings."

"Maybe it was Shunsui; his information could have been overlapping with yours."

"Perhaps, but then why only three? If it was a double image, then I would have sensed four, but I only sensed three. And another thing, the third was small, miniscule, so small I doubt Shunsui could have detected it."

"Maybe it was a bug, then."

"No, it was too small, even for a bug."

"Okay, I give up, what do you think it is?"

"Yeah, Fu, what do you think?"

"Well, this is just a guess, but I think Nyx might be pregnant." All four of them fell silent. Mika was red in the face, and Ken stared at the ceiling. Marcus looked off into space, not sure what to do.


	15. Chapter 13

Prologue

Chapter 13: Betrayal

Marcus and the rest decided that it wasn't their place to break the news about Nyx to either her or Michael. Fu told them she couldn't be sure who the father of the child was, but all four of them agreed that it was likely Michael. It explained a lot, Michael increased concern for Nyx, as well as Nyx's decreased stamina. Mika insisted that they must both know, but Marcus and Ken told both told her that it was better for them to stay out of it. Mika however couldn't keep the secret to herself, and accidentally let it slip to Yukari, who then told Mitsuru and Fuuka. Luckily Marcus and Ken were able to stop it at them, and convince them to tell no one else, especially Nyx or Michael. In the meantime, Jacob and his group went missing. Marcus assumed that Jacob was just sulking about his humiliation at Michael's hands. Instead of worrying about it, Marcus focused on the Christmas and New Years days. Marcus wasn't Christian, but he, like many in Japan, still celebrated the holiday. Marcus had already bought gifts for Mika, Ken, and Fu. He had been looking around for a presents for Michael and Nyx, but couldn't find anything. Mika had been helping him look, but Marcus often didn't like what she suggested. Mika had babies on the brain after she learned about Nyx, and was almost always looking for baby cloths, toys, or anything made for a baby. Marcus commented to Ken that the way she had been acting, you'd think she was the one having the kid. Both Ken and Marcus got plenty of laughs out of imagining Mika as a mother. A week before Christmas, Marcus finally found the perfect gifts. For Michael, he found a movie that Michael had been talking about wanting. For Nyx, he found a pretty scarf, which was splint length wise into black and white halves. He found them by chance as he wandered around the mall. After he bought them, he caught a glimpse of a familiar face out of the corner of his eye. He turned to see Yukari and Minato walking and talking. He was about to say something, when someone grabbed him from behind and pulled him out of sight. Marcus struggled for a second, until he realized it was Junpei. After he agreed not to tell Yukari or Minato he was there, Junpei explained the sneak attack. "I'm here to keep an eye on them."

"Why?"

"Those two have had thing for each other since they met. As a responsible friend, I have to make sure they are alright."

"Even though he's supposed to be helping shop for gifts."

"Oh, hey Chidori."

"Hello, Marcus, how have you been?"

"Good. You?"

"Very good, although I'm getting tired of Junpei's little game." Chidori had moved in with Junpei after she had come back from the dead, and rumor was they were planning to get married. "Hey, c'mon, you can't tell me you aren't having a little fun seeing how their date turns out."

"No, Junpei, I'm not."

"Why not just hang out with them?"

"That's what I've been asking."

"Okay! The truth is that they think this whole romance thing between them is a secret still, even thought it's painfully obvious."

"Not to me!"

"That would be because you're painfully oblivious, Marcus." Marcus, Junpei, and Chidori spun on the spot, not one of them had seen Yukari and Minato enter the store. Yukari was red with embarrassment, but Minato looked amused. "Did you really think I didn't know you were there, Junpei?"

"Well, um, yeah, I did."

"You should know by now that I can feel your Persona's power, although it was Marcus' that drew my attention." Junpei glanced at Marcus, who was equally surprised. "But I guess the biggest give away was Chidori point you out to us."

"Chidori!"

"Sorry, I couldn't help it. Besides, you'll forgive me, right?" Chidori smiled beautifully at Junpei, who stayed angry for the whole of two seconds. "Of course."

"So, Junpei, how long have you known?"

"What? About you two? I've known since I met him, and saw how you acted around him. You were always more polite to him than anyone, except for Mitsuru and Akihiko, but they were our seniors, so it made sense."

"Could you please stop talking about me in the third person? I am right here."

"Sorry, dude. Besides, I'm not the only one to notice. Everybody has, well, everyone from the old group. Even Koromaru figured it out, and he's a dog!"

"Alright, we get the point. It was getting kind of boring trying to hide it anyway."

"Minato! I thought we didn't want them trying to interfere!"

"Yukari, relax, besides, we love each other, right?"

"Of course!"

"Then why hide it? If there's anything I learned from my sleep, it's this. Never waste what little time you have. I intend to spend every spare second with you, and I don't much care who knows it."

"Wow, I didn't think putting this entire thing out in the open would feel so nice. But now that it's out, who cares?!"

"Great! Can I go now?" Marcus had had his fill of emotions for the day. "I'm so happy! I wonder if Nyx will feel this happy when she has the baby."

"What?" Minato looked right into Yukari's eyes. "What about Nyx?"

"Oh, um, nothing." Yukari tried to cover up he slip up, but the damage was done. "No, you said something about Nyx and a baby." Junpei's face was contorted with thought, and Chidori was looking intently at Yukari. Minato stared off into space, his eyes blank. Then Marcus saw a gleam of comprehension in his eyes, and tensed for Minato to let the secret slip, but he didn't. Minato was about to get Junpei and Chidori off the subject, when Chidori almost whispered, "Nyx is going to have a baby?"

Junpei's expression flew from thought to astonishment, to thought again, and then to annoyance. "Why didn't you tell us?" Yukari froze like a deer in headlights. "Why, Minato, I know you figured it you, so why?"

"Because, it's not our business."

"Not our…of course it's our business! She's our friends now, right? Isn't it our duty to tell her?"

"No…"

"YES! We have to tell her, right now! It's her right to know, and since we know, we have to tell her!"

"Junpei…"

"Let's go right now! She's at the Sable right? Alright, then let's go!"

"How very exciting." Igor stood at Minato's side, watching the conversation with interest. "After all, it isn't every day that two, part human, part Shadow, beings have a child."

"So Michael is the father?"

"Why of course, my dear boy, who else?"

"Um…"

"That was a rhetorical question. Those two were destined to meet. It is undeniable fate that they should be together. It is interesting, though. It seems Nyx has the power to reverse Arcana, which in most cases can be catastrophic, but in Michael's case is a blessing."

"Wait, Arcana?"

"The Arcana are the twenty-two major Arcana of a tarot card deck, numbered zero through twenty-one. Zero is the Fool, and twenty-one is the World."

"Exactly, Minato. I see you have forgotten nothing since your days in the velvet room. Arcana are used in those decks, and are used to classify Shadows and Personas. Minato's current Persona, for example, is of the Judgment Arcana, or number twenty. For a short time he was even in possession of a Persona from the World Arcana, but sadly it was used up in the sealing of Nyx. I say sadly, but in fact it is wonderful that she was sealed, or she would have never met Michael. What few know is that Arcana affect humans too. The effect is less obvious, but it is there. Minato, for example is a classic example of a human with a Fool Arcana, for only the Fool, number zero, can hold multiple Personas. Empty, but infinite, that is the power of the Fool."

"What about me?"

"You, Junpei? That is simple; you are of the Magician Arcana. Foolish, and occasionally stupid, but with a kind heart, strong will, and the ability to see the good in any circumstance, these are the aspects of the Magician. As for your lovely lady friend, she is of the Hanged Man Arcana. She likely has had pain in her past, and for a time saw the world upside down, but in the presence of a positive force like the Magician, she is happiest. However, in the presence of a negative force, with no positive light, she was destined to fall."

"This is great and all, but what does it have to do with Nyx and Michael?"

"Right. Nyx is of the Death Arcana, the embodiment of change. Michael is of the Tower Arcana, ill fated Arcana to be sure. Under normal events, it is the destiny of the Tower to fall and be rebuilt, only to fall again, forever into eternity. But it seems as if, in the presence of Death, the Tower fails to fall, the cycle is broken."

"Okay, so, just so I know, what are all of the Arcana?"

"In numerical order, they are: The Fool, The Magician, The Priestess, The Empress, The Emperor, The Hierophant, The Lovers, The Chariot, Strength, The Hermit, Fortune, Justice, The Hanged Man, Death, Temperance, The Devil, The Tower, The Star, The Moon, The Sun, Judgment, and The World."

"Whoa. How can you remember all of them?"

"Millennia of practice." Igor smile broadly. "Another point of interest on this subject is that each member of the old team possesses one of the thirteen Arcana leading up to Death. Minato Arisato has The Fool, Junpei Iori has The Magician, Fuuka Yamagishi has The Priestess, Mitsuru Kirijo has the Empress, Akihiko Sanada has the Emperor, Shinjiro Aragaki had the Hierophant, Yukari Takeba has The Lovers, Aigis has The Chariot, Koromaru has Strength, and Ken Amada has Justice."

"What about The Hermit, Fortune, and The Hanged Man?"

"I've already told you who has the Hanged Man, Miss Chidori Yoshino. As for the Hermit, it was in the possession of one of Chidori's comrades, Jin Shirato."

"That's right, I remember Jin telling me Moros was a hermit, but I didn't understand what he meant. Now it makes sense, his Persona was an incredibly powerful scanner, capable of picking out even the smallest weaknesses."

"This leaves Fortune, currently the Arcana of Takaya Sakaki. It explains his near limitless luck."

"So calling him a lucky bastard isn't really far off, is it?"

"No, in fact, I'd say that hits the nail on the head." Over the time Marcus had known Igor he had become a kind of eccentric uncle to the group, telling them what they needed to know, but often not more. Marcus bid his friends farewell and returned to the dorm. Ken and Fu were sitting in the front room watching the T.V. Marcus said hello and walked right on past, he felt bushed. He went up to his room and collapsed on the bed, knowing Mitsuru would chew him out for missing training at Tartarus. In moments he was asleep. He awoke when he felt something cold pressed against the skin of his neck. His eyes flew open and saw Jacob standing over him, holding a knife to his throat. "You son of a-"

"Shut up. Get up, or I'll cut your head off." Marcus did as he was told, he was unarmed. "Now, get downstairs, and no funny business, or Mika dies." Marcus felt a chill run up his spine, and his heart start to race. "Go on." Marcus again followed instructions, he wasn't going to risk Mika's life. Down stairs he saw Ken and Fu, still dressed in the clothes they had worn yesterday. It seemed they had fallen asleep on the couch. Apart from them, but watching intently were Shunsui and Karaki. Soon after he got there, Amane kicked open the door, and shoved Mika into the group with Marcus. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw she was alright. "What's going on?" Marcus asked of Amane. "Isn't it obvious? We're switching sides."

"You bitch!" Mika screamed. Amane didn't seem to care. Jacob returned. He was carrying all of Ken and Marcus' gear, except for their Evokers. "Where are they?" He glared at Marcus. "Tell me where your Evokers are, now!"

"Fuck you."

"Ha! I guess you want her to die then?" Marcus froze, knowing Mika was without her Evoker. In the blink of an eye, Ken and Marcus had their Evokers in hand, and sent both Shunsui and Karaki through the front window. This gave Fu time to call her Persona. Jacob attacked with his swords, but Chaos caught him mid-stride, and flung him into a wall. Amane attacked with Pandora, but Kala-nemi blocked it with ease. "You four are pathetic." Takaya's cold voice chilled Marcus to the core. "Honestly, you tell me you can handle it, and what do I find crumpled in the street? Two of you, caught off guard and useless."

"They are a disgrace, master. Why not destroy them now?"

"As much as I'd like to End, they do have their uses, like leading me here, and separating these four from the flock." End no longer tried to hide in the guise Michael had described. Instead he looked like a mannequin, split down the middle into black and white halves, almost like the scarf Marcus had found for Nyx. There was no face, only the hinting of the tip of a nose in the middle of the oval of the front of the head. Takaya grinned as if he was looking at old friends. He pulled his revolver from his belt and loaded four bullets into it. He aimed, and gunshot rang out. But it wasn't Takaya who shot. End fell forward with the force of the bullet digging into his back. Takaya spun on the spot and looked Michael right in the eyes. Takaya snarled as he lunged for Michael's throat. Michael dodged, but didn't fight back. Takaya attacked again, narrowly missing. Marcus watched as Takaya attacked and Michael backed away, leading Takaya further away from the dorm. End suddenly, but silently flew into a wall. In his place stood Matt. Amane made to yell for Takaya, but Nyx appeared and covered her mouth, pinning her to a wall. Jacob ran at Nyx, who was preoccupied with Amane, but was intercepted by Milton, who knocked him unconscious with one hit. Marcus understood immediately what was happening, Michael was keeping Takaya occupied while Nyx, Matt, and Milton made the rescue. Nyx fished Mika's Evoker off Amane, and tossed it to her, before knocking Amane out. "You kids alright?"

"Yeah, we're fine."

"What's going on? Why are Jacob and his gang here?"

"They've switched sides, they're working for Takaya now." Suddenly Takaya flew through the front window, landing on his feet. Michael was right behind him, no longer playing. Michael tried to kick Takaya in the head, but missed. Marcus could see that Takaya had gotten stronger and faster. Takaya punched at Michael's head, but Michael caught it and flipped Takaya over his head, slamming him into the floor. Takaya kicked Michael's legs out from under him and tried to pin Michael to the ground and choke him, but Michael kicked him off, and then kicked him with enough force to toss Takaya into the ceiling. End regained himself, and tried to jump Michael, but was swatted out of the air by Matt. Jacob began to come to, so Milton punched him in the forehead. End didn't stay down for long, going after Nyx in the blink of an eye. He was fast, but incomparable to Michael, who nearly crushed End's head into his body with a devastating punch. At this, Takaya called for a retreat, he picked up Karaki and Shunsui, while End grabbed Jacob and Amane. Michael didn't try to stop them. He watched them go, knowing the fight was far from over.


	16. Chapter 14

Prologue

Chapter 14: Reprieve

Marcus couldn't believe what had happened, he couldn't understand why Jacob, Amane, Shunsui, and Karaki had betrayed them. Michael was unsurprised, explaining that Jacob and Amane were arrogant, and power hungry, and that they had dragged Shunsui and Karaki down with them. Ken was furious that Michael had let them escape, as were Milton and Matt. Only Nyx seemed to understand why, and neither of them told any of the others the reason. On Christmas Eve the whole group was invited to a party at the Sable. Minato and Yukari were officially a couple and spent the entire time in each other's company. Mitsuru sat quietly at the bar, just watching. Junpei and Chidori were also quiet. Marcus, Ken, Mika, and Fu occupied the upper balcony, if for no other reason than the view. Michael and Nyx were absent, but Matt and Milton assured everyone that they would arrive shortly. Akihiko and Minato began started talking about where they could be, and Yukari and Fuuka joined in shortly. Aigis didn't appear to care, but would occasionally glance at the door. "So, where do you think they are, Mika?"

"How should I know, Marcus? It's not like I keep tabs on them or anything."

"Really? I thought you were an expert on their lives?"

"Very funny, Fu."

"What about you, Marcus? Where do you think they are?"

"I don't know, maybe their getting us gifts. I hope so. What do you think they'd get us, Ken?"

"I don't really care, it's the thought that counts."

"Bull, you care."

"Do not."

"Do to."

"Do Not!"

"Do To!"

"Enough, you two." Fu spoke infrequently, so for her to raise her voice was almost unprecedented. Koromaru, who had been wrapped around Mika's feet, suddenly perked up his ears and faced the door. Aigis also turned to the door, and, following their lead, so did everyone else. A moment later Michael and Nyx entered. Marcus reached down and scratched Koromaru behind the ears, a reward for the early warning. Michael surveyed the room, his eyes drifting to locate everyone. Nyx was busy with her coat, until Michael helped her to get it off. Even from the balcony, Marcus could see snowflakes in their hair. Michael looked back into the room again. "What?"

"What took you so long?"

"Nyx hadn't seen snow before, so we stopped to look."

"For snow?"

"Yes."

"What about…?"

"Oh! Yeah. The doctors checked Nyx out and confirmed it, she's pregnant. They took a D.N.A. sample, don't ask me how, and told us they'd call with the results."

"You don't look particularly excited."

"We got that out of our systems on the way here. It's funny how relaxing a quiet walk in the snow can be."

"It was nice, just Michael and I. No one else was out. It's nice, walking home with someone you care about, and who cares about you."

"Aren't you two worried? How are you going to raise a kid?"

"I acted like a mother to countless Shadows, I think I can handle one baby."

"Wait, acted? You're not an actual mother?"

"Not yet, but I will be soon."

"But Ryoji told us you were the mother of all Shadows."

"I think he said something to the effect of 'a maternal figure' when he described me to you. That is true, I was like a mother to all Shadows, but they were not born from me in any physical sense. Shadows do not reproduce like human, or like any species for that matter. They do not divide, or mate. I do not honestly know where Shadows come from, but I can tell you that they can not reproduce under their own power." Michael didn't appear the least surprised at this revelation, but it floored every one else. Nyx didn't let her pregnancy affect her personality, and she didn't want to let it get in the way of her helping them either, but Michael wouldn't have any of it. It was strange, Marcus had known Michael as a laid back, easy going guy, but now he was strict, and very protective of her. Marcus was amazed at the change, it was seamless. All the lazy qualities had melted away, and in their lace, a responsible, powerful man had emerged. It was like the thought of being a father had cut away all the pointless garbage. Michael no longer hid his feelings for Nyx, quite the opposite. They would hold hands, kiss, and cuddle. Now that everyone was present, Matt decided to pull out the gifts. Everyone had brought their gifts for each other as well, so they added up to quite a pile. Luckily all of them were labeled, so it was easy to tell which ones were meant for whom. Marcus gave his gifts to Michael and Nyx, who both had presents for him in turn. Michael had gotten him a long black coat woven with bullet proof fibers. Nyx gave him a pair of gloves made out of black leather, with special grips on the palms to give him a batter grip on his sword during fights. Marcus lost track of who got what after that, but he did remember that Michael, Milton, and Matt all received new outfits. Matt was given a long white robe, similar to a priest's robe, with a large, gold cross emblazoned on the back. Milton was given a long black trench coat with red trim and a steel gauntlet that fit over his left arm. Michael got a long coat patterned with vertical white and black stripes. The left sleeve was black and the right was white. He was also given a new Evoker, which was actually his old one, repaired and repainted with white as well as black. The rest of the night went by in a blur of movies, games, and stupid jokes. Most of the adults got drunk, except Michael and Nyx. Eventually the guys decided to have a tournament to see who was the strongest. Ken, Marcus, Michael, Milton, Matt, Junpei, Akihiko, and Minato were paired off by the girls. The first fight was Ken against Akihiko, and Akihiko won handily. The next pitted Minato and Milton. Milton immediately gave up, claiming to be too drunk to fight. Next, Matt fought Junpei. Junpei quickly lost. The last of the first fights was Marcus versus Michael. Marcus knew he couldn't beat Michael, but gave his all. The fight was fierce, and fast, so fast that only people whose eyes had been trained by the Dark Hour could follow it. Michael held back, not wanting to hurt his friend, and Marcus let fly. Marcus did indeed lose, but not before almost landing a powerful that could have won the fight. Michael had caught the blow at the last second, and used its power against Marcus, knocking him out for a second. With the first rounds over, all eight men took a break. Mika fussed over Marcus, even though he was fine. Michael had made sure not to go even a modicum too far. It was amazing, how well he controlled his movements, and how fine tuned they were. The next rounds put Akihiko against Michael and Matt against Minato. Akihiko surrendered immediately, he knew full well that Michael was out of his league. Matt, one the other hand, came at Minato with all of his considerable strength. What he hadn't counted on was Minato not being there when Matt struck. Matt was strong, but Minato was fast, unbelievably fast. In the blink of an eye he was behind Matt, just out of reach as Matt swung around to try and pummel Minato again. Again, Minato was gone. Marcus had to rub his eyes to convince himself that he was actually seeing what he thought he was seeing. Minato was sidestepping Matt's every move as if Matt were moving in slow motion. Finally exhausted, Matt gave up. That left Michael and Minato, neither of whom had had to throw a real punch. In the blink of an eye they were inches from each other, nose to nose. Michael had a few inches of height on Minato, but they stood their ground equally. Minato tried to get around Michael, like he had Matt, but found that as he moved, Michael moved with him. No matter what he did, Minato always wound up face to face with Michael. It dawned on Marcus that in terms of speed, they were evenly matched. Finally the two men dropped the fancy foot work and got down to good old fashioned punching. Again, the two were dead even in terms of skill. Minato's Dark Hour trained reflexes were perfectly on par with Michael's Shadow enhanced ones. Michael stopped mid-fight, and as if connected by an unseen channel, so did Minato. They nodded to each other, acknowledging each other's skills. The night continued to wind down, until the Dark Hour began. The drunken stupors and foolish games vanished, replaced by an overall alertness. It was fresh in all their minds that Takaya had four new followers, and they all knew it was unlikely for him to pass up an opportunity to kill even one of them. Michael, however, did not share the concern of the others, and there for, neither did Nyx. He explained that at Takaya's core, he was nothing but a coward, and wouldn't risk his own safety against the whole of them together. Michael spoke with an undeniable confidence, and it carried over to others in the group, but not everyone. Junpei and Chidori were still skeptical. Nyx just hoped he was right.


	17. Chapter 15

Prologue

Chapter 15:

The End and the Beginning

Marcus awoke the next morning with an awful headache. He felt as if his head had been beaten with a very large stick. Marcus stumbled out of bed, and walked headlong into his door. Barely able to walk straight with the pain, he got dressed and made his way downstairs. One glance at Ken told Marcus that they were in the same boat. "What happened?"

"I can't remember. I called Fu a little while ago, and she said she feels fine, and so does Mika."

"Good, at least they're alright."

"Yeah, I know." Both guys sat down heavily, clutching their heads. "Do you think it was the fight?"

"Maybe." Mika and Fu showed up not a minute later. Mika layer Marcus down with his head in her lap and began to massage his head. Fu tried taking Ken temperature with the back of her hand, but she couldn't feel any heat. Fu didn't follow Mika's example, instead she just cuddled in next to Ken. "Well, isn't this a cute sight?"

"Matt? Milton? What are you guys doing here?"

"Mike kicked us out."

"Yeah, said he needed the room. I don't much mind though, I was thinking of moving out anyway."

"He just kicked you out? That sounds a little harsh."

"Well, he and Nyx will be having the kid soon enough, so they'll need the room. Besides, the both of us needed to get out and live our own lives."

"Yeah, especially Matt."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?"

"Face facts, you need a lady. We both need girlfriends dude."

"Back off dude. You're luck I don't deck your ass for that cheap shot."

"Whoa, cool off dude." Matt grabbed Milton by the collar and lifted him into the air. "Keep the smart ass shit up, and I'll break you."

"Whoa, dude, wait, relax, I mean, come on, chill..."

"Ha, ha, ha, ha! Just messing with you." Matt dropped Milton. "You freaking psychopath! Nutty whack job loon!"

"Milton, calm down." Marcus hadn't often seen the two of them without Michael around. Michael had always acted as a serious figure, so to see the two of them goofing around was a departure from how Marcus knew them. "So, why are you here?"

"Oh, we'll be crashing here until we can get apartments." Marcus groaned. "Just what we need."

"Don't worry, they won't around for long." Michael stepped in, his arms folded. "I've told them to get places of their own A.S.A.P."

"Yeah, he threatened to beat the stuffing out of them if they didn't." Nyx stepped in after him. She didn't seem to lose anything in pregnancy, but Marcus figured that was because she was still early in. "There's a good reason I threatened to hurt them is because they might get it in their heads that they could stay here. You two know what I'll do if you try to freeload, right?"

"Oh, yeah."

"No doubt."

"Even we're not that dumb."

"You're not dumb, guys, you just get lazy." Marcus' jaw dropped, he hadn't heard Michael give a compliment to his friends before. "Are you okay Michael?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Are you sure?"

"Marcus, what's wrong with you? I'm fine." Nyx hugged Michael from behind, laying her head on his shoulder. "Better than fine, I hope."

"With you around, always." Marcus tried to smile, but the act amplified his headache. Mika started to rub his head again, but it still didn't help. Michael and Nyx came in from the doorway, and sat down on another couch opposite Marcus, Mika, Ken, and Fu. "So, how are you four taking the betrayal?" Michael looked at the four of them in concern. "We're fine, but I still can't believe they'd do that."

"It's kind of unreal, you know? I just don't get it, why would they...?"

"Simple. Shunsui and Karaki are the kind of spineless followers who have a hard time leading themselves. Jacob and Amane are power hungry punks, who think that the whole world needs to bend over while they fuck it up the ass." Nyx slapped Michael's chest. "You had better watch your language after the baby is born. I won't have my baby listening to your foul mouth."

"Nyx, don't worry. I know how to act around a kid. I guess I'm just trying to get all this mean, jerk, asshole type attitude out of my system, so that when the baby is born, I'll be able to be the best dad I can be."

"Michael. I may be biased, but I think you'll be an awesome dad. Although, it might just be that I love you that much, that I can't see the flaws you see in yourself."

"I think you're right, Nyx. We've been around Mike for a long time, and he's always looked out for us. None of us had anyone to call dad, or mom for that matter. He was always the leader, so he kind of served as an impromptu dad anyway."

"If taking care of the baby is anything like babysitting you two, I'm golden."

"Ha, ha, very funny."

"Who's joking?" Michael grinned wryly. Marcus relaxed, trying to stop thinking, in the hope that not thinking would relieve his headache. He quickly fell asleep. Michael watched Marcus and Ken fall asleep, with Mika and u not far behind them. "Get your stuff up to your rooms, and quietly, I don't want to interrupt nap time."

"See. You'll be good father."

"I hope so." Nyx looked into Michael's face. His face showed no real emotion, but his eyes gleamed with what she could only describe as caring.

A week passed without incident, with the exception of heavy snow. It became a common habit of Michael and Nyx to stand around outside and just watch the snow fall. Matt and Milton were able to find apartments, and according to Milton, Matt had even found a girlfriend. "Who is she, do you know?" Marcus rolled his eyes as Mika began interrogating Milton. "No, I haven't met her yet, but I think she's a normal person."

"Thank god, just about everyone we know is a Persona user, or some other supernatural being." Marcus rolled his eyes again. He was about to interrupt, when a brick sailed through the front window of Sable, where they were talking. Tied to the brick was a sheet of paper. "Wow, that's original."

"Tell me about it." Michael picked up the brick, pulled the note off of it, and threw it at one of the potted bushes in the mall. A sharp cry of pain came from the bush and Jacob fell out from behind it. He ran off, holding his forehead. "I wish he'd thrown two, that way I could have hit him twice." Michael peeled open the message and read aloud. "Dear peons, I want to end this, once and for all. I suggest we meet at the top of Tartarus. How fateful that this story should end in the same place as did the events that set it in motion."

"Wordy bastard, isn't he?"

"That aside, he wants a fight. I say we give it to him." Michael hesitated, and suggested they show the note to Mitsuru and Minato. Mitsuru was with the others in the willingness to fight, but Minato hesitated like Michael. At his suggestion, it was decided that they would train another week before challenging Takaya.

Nyx awoke suddenly. The lights that normally stayed on all night were out. That meant it was the Dark Hour. She looked over to Michael, but he was gone. She dressed quickly and ran out of Sable, calling everyone on her new cell phone. She knew exactly where he was.

Michael ripped his way through several Shadows as he charged up the last stair case. Takaya was waiting for him. Michael looked around. The tower's top was plain and flat, and colored black. Around the edge of the area were a series of black spikes. "You came alone?"

"I figured we'd end this like men. One on one."

"You trust me to fight fair?"

"I trust you to have at least some pride left."

"Fine. After all, this really is between you and me."

"No, we're relics. Artifacts of the past."

"You're wrong. We are the future! We are humanities salvation, or I am, at least."

"I was right about you. You have lot your mind."

"Silence. I have a world to rule."

"Save me a seat in hell." Michael didn't bother with a revolver, and neither did Takaya. They didn't even bother with Persona's. They went straight to a bare knuckle fist fight. Michael punched Takaya in the face, just as Takaya landed a solid blow to Michael gut. Michael kicked Takaya in the side, sending him sprawling, but as Takaya rolled away, he pulled one of Michael's legs out from under him, bringing him to his knees. Michael stomped at Takaya's head as he rolled away, but Takaya was just out of reach. Takaya got to his feet and rushed Michael, who jumped easily over him, and brought his fist down. The floor cracked under the blow. Michael and Takaya stopped playing, both shifting into their Shadow forms. "I forgot to ask, how is it you can become a Shadow?"

"A gift, from my new masters."

"You always were a sucker for nice toys." Michael fired off three shots at Takaya. The first two missed, but the third hit. Takaya reeled for the blast, but managed to right himself and fire back. Michael dodged the shots, and ran in close to Takaya. His fist connected with Takaya's head, snapping it sideways. Michael hoped Takaya's neck had broken, but was dismayed to see it had not. Takaya began to laugh. His laugh grew shriller as spikes and spines shot out of his back. Eventually two reptilian wings ripped out of his back, opening in twin blasts of air. "Now, DIE!" Takaya punched Michael in the gut. The breath rushed from his lungs, and he tasted blood. Takaya punched him across the face. Michael's vision blurred as pain shot through his skull. Michael gripped Takaya's arm, trying to crush it. Takaya howled in pain, and slammed Michael to the ground. The shock of the landing jarred Michael's grip, freeing Takaya's arm. Takaya then grabbed one of Michael's legs, and began to whip him around, slamming him into the ground intermittently. Michael could feel his bones cracking under the force, and could taste his own blood rise in his throat. Michael finally gripped Takaya's head with both arms, and crushed it with all of his strength. "I can't loose. I have to make this world safe, for them." Michael felt a new surge of power rush into his body. In a flash of clarity, he knew what had to happen, what he had to do, and what the future could hold. He knew in that instant, that one moment, that he was but one piece of a much greater scheme.

Nyx ran up the stairs, her heart too scared to even beat. Marcus was only steps behind her, but even pregnant, she was too worried to take it easy. She reached the top, and saw Takaya, complete with demonic wings, and Michael, snow white against the inky blackness of the night. He turned to look at her, and as he did, his Shadow form melted away. He smiled, and glanced at Marcus, who came up behind Nyx. In a single fluid motion he tossed his Evoker, glinting in the moonlight, to Marcus, and turned back to Takaya. "Giving up?"

"No, just letting this play out." Takaya ripped one of the spikes from his back, turning it into a sword. Michael turned back to Nyx and mouthed one word, "Sorry."

Nyx felt her heart stop as Takaya's new sword went straight through Michael's chest. In his rage, Takaya ran full tilt into one of the spikes around the edge of the top, sticking Michael's already lifeless corpse to it. Takaya started to laugh. His laugh grew and grew, until it seemed to fill the air to the brim with its sound. "Finally, I win! End, I have fulfilled your prophesy. Open the door for our masters let this world be cleansed, and erased. Bring forth Id and Super Ego!" Nyx collapsed in tears, just as the moon split in two. One half turned into a perfect half sphere, and became pure white. The other half became twisted and black. At the same time, the tower began to split as well. Marcus acted without thought, putting Michael's Evoker to his head, pulling the trigger, and calling Chaos. Without prompting Chaos encased the entire team, who had all arrived by then and seen the sight of the impaled Michael, in a shimmering bubble of light. As the tower fell away beneath them, they could still see Michael's corpse. Marcus felt rage boil up in his heart. Then, the anger bled away, and he joined Nyx in tears.


	18. Special Secret

Prologue

Special Secret

"_I wish you weren't born in this world."_

_"We all do…"_

_"Are they hunting?"_

"_It was bad enough with the Dark Hour…"_

"_I want to get to Tartarus by tomorrow…"_

_"Gabrielle!"_

"…_Now they're running around 24/7."_

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3: Fragments of the Mind

Coming Soon…

One year later

…And there are still Fragments…


End file.
